Worker absenteeism shows up in bottom line

The Dallas Morning News (MCT) - On any given day, about 1,500 J.C. Penney Co. employees are on a leave of absence from one of the company's 11,000 stores across the country.

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About 1,200 workers a day will be out on disability.

It's a problem lamented in human resources offices across the nation as lost days of work can add up to big money. And in recessionary times when profits are slim, it's a cost that most managers would prefer to eliminate.

The nation's 300 largest employers estimate that unscheduled absenteeism costs their businesses, on average, more than $760,000 a year in direct payroll costs _ and even more when lower productivity, lost revenue and the effects of poor morale are considered, according to a 2007 survey by the research firm CCH Inc.

In an effort to improve its numbers, Plano, Texas-based Penney implemented a program two months ago that is staffed with workers who gave up their daily customer service responsibilities to work solely on reducing absenteeism.

If you're sick and can't work for more than three days, you call the company's PowerLine. The PowerLine team, based in Salt Lake City, determines the type of benefit, if any, you receive _ workers' compensation, short-term disability or a leave of absence.

The team notifies the store where you work, along with the appropriate insurance carrier, and sends you any necessary forms to complete.

The PowerLine employee follows up with absent workers, repeatedly checking on their condition until they return to work.

"I've found that when someone goes out on disability, that person undergoes a significant event in their life, and if no one checks on them to see how they're doing, they could stay out longer than necessary," said Jim Cuva, Penney's benefit manager. "It's letting them know we care."

So far the program is working, Cuva said.

"We're not even 90 days into it, but we're as good as we can be," said Paul Landry, a consultant with Watson Wyatt who is working with Penney on the absenteeism program.

Only a third of all absences are related to an illness, said Susan Frear, director of education for the Dallas office of the Society for Human Resource Management.

"The rest of the absences are related to having to be someplace else or they just don't feel like coming in," Frear said. "So a lot has to do with the culture of the place."

For smaller companies, experts say a different managerial approach can often curtail habitual absences.

"Take a hard look at the climate," said Barb Ashbaugh, who owns Plano-based Ashbaugh's Trade Secret LLC, a performance management company.

Ashbaugh said authoritarian managers "who make employees feel it's their way or the highway" cause most absences.

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"I think a lot of managers, when people are absent, just write them off. Then as time goes by they say, 'Gee, this person has been out a lot,'" said Nancy Glube, a human resources executive in Atlanta. "If they're a good manager, they'll be in touch with what's going on in their lives."

Glube said company policies may also encourage absenteeism. For example, some companies count "occurrences" instead of days absent.

"If I'm out three days in a row, I may try to sneak in a few extra days because that's still one occurrence," Glube said.

Profiles International, a Waco, Texas-based work force improvement company with 40,000 clients, says it's developed a system for determining which employees are more likely to miss work.

Its Step One Survey uses a questionnaire to find out whether a job applicant might have a problem with absences. For example, applicants are asked whether they agree or disagree with statements such as:

_ I have asked a friend to punch my time card when I knew I was going to be late for work.

_ If you're at work and just don't feel like working, it's OK to say you're sick and go home.

_ It's OK to get around rules, as long as you don't actually break them.

For current employees, the company offers other online surveys to learn of employees' core characteristics.

"Once you have that information, you can do something like make sure you get them in the right job," said Terry Flaherty, vice president of strategy. "If they're not going to be happy, they're more likely to be absent."

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© 2008, The Dallas Morning News.