What is absenteeism in the workplace and how much is acceptable?

Sometimes, skipping work feels more than a little tempting. 

The alarm goes off and a mental to-do list flashes through your mind. Life is busy and doesn't start and stop at the office. Plus, we’d all benefit from a bit more free time. 

But missing work is often unavoidable. Sickness, car hiccups, and family emergencies cause unexpected days off from time to time. But chronic absenteeism can create problems for yourself and your coworkers. 

If you’re missing a lot of work or managing a frequently-missing team member, learning how to prevent and address absenteeism might save you or your coworkers their job — and well-being.

What is absenteeism? A definition for the workplace

Absenteeism is when you often miss work without a good reason. Approved absences or uncontrollable situations, like a vacation or getting sick, don’t count. 

Human resources departments often track employee absenteeism rates to better understand when they need to confront an employee or manager about missed workdays. While a single unexcused absence isn’t great — managers typically expect to be notified when you’ll miss work, no matter the reason — human resources usually gets involved once they notice a habit. 

There’s no hard fast rule regarding how much unexcused absenteeism is acceptable. Business owners can create an absenteeism policy internally, deciding how many missed days are too many, which should be included in employee onboarding documents so everyone knows. 

3 ways to be absent

Do your work absences fall under absenteeism? Here are three ways to be absent from work: 

1. Excused absence

When an employee asks for permission from their employer in advance, it’s considered an excused or planned absence. 

Common reasons for an excused absence include:

• Jury duty
• Parental leave
• Bereavement
• Medical leave
• Sabbatical
• Vacation time

American organizations usually have set policies for excused absences for full-time employees per the Family and Medical Leave Act. But every state has its own rules, and employers aren’t required by law to guarantee paid leave.

Contractors, temporary and part-time employees, and hourly workers may not have access to the same paid leave policy. Always check with your human resources department about the company time-off policy. 

2. Occasional absenteeism

Occasional absences are normal — life throws curve balls that can't always be planned for. 

Common reasons for an occasional absence include:

• Car problems
• Sick days
• Childcare or caregiving responsibilities 
• Household problems or disasters, like a burst pipe or flood

These absences are infrequent and likely don't seriously impact a worker's workflow. There are plenty of reasons to call out of work besides being sick, and companies should factor unplanned time off into their organization's structure to avoid workflow, staffing, and deadline problems. 

3. Chronic absenteeism

Chronic absenteeism involves missing more days than a company’s absence policy allows and having poor excuses for why. This can have major repercussions on profits, productivity, and teamwork. 

Common causes of chronic absenteeism include:

• Lack of motivation or disengagement
• Being harassed at work
• Feeling overwhelmed by work responsibilities
• Career crisis or loss of workplace purpose
• Chronic illness or injury
• Stress, anxiety, and depression
• Burnout
• Family or eldercare 
• Dissatisfaction

Chronic absenteeism doesn't always mean missing a day of work. When an employee is unmotivated, frequently arrives late and leaves early, and takes long breaks, it has the same effect as if they didn’t show up. 

Chronic absenteeism: What is it?

If you’re chronically absent, sooner or later, your manager will likely pull you aside to chat about the cause or take disciplinary action. Good managers understand that absenteeism isn't caused by laziness.

A chronically absent employee is likely dealing with a challenge impacting their ability to work. But if the problem persists, you might lose your job. 

To avoid these consequences, the first step is to address the underlying cause of your disengagement or time management issues. In some cases, an organization might even be responsible for the employee's absenteeism, like hostile work environments or an unrealistic workload. 

Rather than jumping to conclusions, management should take a proactive approach to identify absenteeism, as it could indicate unhealthy company culture, poor organizational structure, or unrealistic goals. It's in their best interest to address these things.

Here are a few root causes of chronic absenteeism:

1. Burnout

American workers are burned out. They feel pressured to clock in early, stay late, and keep their devices connected on nights and weekends. Even in positions with high salaries and substantial benefits, toxic work culture drains energy and is a common (and logical) reason for workers to disengage and search for an environment that values their mental and physical well-being. 

2. Harassment

Everybody deserves to be treated with care and respect at work. Yet, 44% of Americans have experienced workplace harassment. Employees don't always have the option to get another job with ease, which could lead to chronic absences to avoid a harasser. 

3. Depression or anxiety

Poor mental health causes employees to take nearly 12 days of unplanned absences a year, compared to the 2.5-day average. And depression is such a common phenomenon in the workplace that American organizations lose up to $44 billion in lost productivity annually because of it. 

The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help already low employee mental health, and now 20% are frightened about the repercussions of discussing poor well-being at work. A chronic mental health issue can cause employees to disengage from work, lack motivation, and skip frequently. 

4. Bad management

Managers are often the glue that holds an organization together — they transform leadership goals into their workers' day-to-day responsibilities and have a strong impact on an employee's desire to clock in every day.

Bosses that manage with fear, micromanage, or provide little direction create inefficient processes that stress employees out. And even if they mean well, the consequences of managers who struggle to thrive trickle down to team members.

What are the consequences of work absenteeism?

The costs of absenteeism don't just impact the worker — they extend to the rest of the organization. 

Here are the ways absenteeism impacts a business at every level:

1. Workers

If you’re an hourly worker or contractor, you could lose a portion of your monthly salary. Likewise, freelancers and contractors might lose important contracts and clients.

And for all workers, you could receive criticism from management, diminish your reputation, lose your job, and have difficulty finding employment if your previous manager won’t offer a reference. 

2. Coworkers

If you cannot make up for the missed time, work colleagues will have to pick up the slack. This could lead to increased stress and extra hours that disrupt their work-life balance.

Chronic absenteeism might cause coworkers to harbor resentment against absent teammates or the manager for not finding a solution, which could harm employee morale. 

3. The whole team

The entire group might not keep up with the increased workload and underdeliver on projects. Feeling overworked could lead to less productivity and creativity and create divisions in the team. Plus, seeing a coworker get away with absenteeism could cause frustration with the leadership and organization. 

4. Management

If you’re a manager dealing with chronic absenteeism, you’ll have to do a lot of damage control with frustrated coworkers, unsatisfied clients, and impatient leaders wanting goals to be met.

5. The organization

Even a single chronically absent employee can decrease productivity and profits. Plus, costs add up: overtime pay for employees picking up the slack, human resources to rein in absenteeism, and the high cost of firing and rehiring all require unplanned resources.

Are there any upsides to absenteeism?

There’s one upside to absenteeism: personal growth. 

Managers might learn from their experiences dealing with absent employees, coworkers might learn to confront teammates who seem disengaged or pass off their work often.

Absent workers addressing the issue will learn more about themselves and increase the necessary skills — like time management, resilience, or communication — to better handle this issue in the future. 

How much absenteeism is acceptable? Calculate your absence rate

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans miss about 3.2% of workdays annually, and 2.5% of that is illness-related. While there are exceptions to the rule, like sudden childcare issues or a bad case of pneumonia, anything above 2.5% is likely due to a preventable non-illness-related problem. 

If a worker misses more than 2.5% of work a year, it’s probably evidence that something’s causing these increased absences, like harassment or depression.

3 ways to improve your absenteeism

If you’re a chronically absent employee, here are three ways to reduce missed work:

1. Prioritize your mental health

Strong mental health isn't just good for your well-being — it makes you a better worker. Mental health is essential to productivity, building solid work relationships, and maintaining employee engagement.

A few ways to improve self-management and overall well-being are:

• Exercise regularly
• Eat healthy, nutrient-dense meals
• Improve your sleep schedule
• Enjoy about two hours of free time a day
• Seek help from a mental health professional 

2. Talk to your manager

You were hired for a reason, and your manager wants to keep you on board. Schedule a one-on-one to discuss the issue. The more transparent you are, the better their advice will be, so be vulnerable and honest. 

Your company might have resources like wellness or employee assistance programs to help you take care of your mental health, upskilling opportunities or training reimbursements if you're feeling stuck at work, or protocols for dealing with workplace bullying. 

3. Negotiate a flexible work model 

Traditional 9–5 work structures aren't for everyone — family responsibilities, social anxiety with face-to-face communication, or a desire for healthy work-life balance are why workers ask for more flexible work models.

That's probably why 87% of workers offered flexible work models take it. Working from home is redefining the future of work, and it might be time for you to negotiate flexible hours into your contract. 

3 ways to improve your team's absenteeism

If you’re a manager dealing with an employee’s excessive absences, here are three ways you could address it:

1. Perform an audit

Go straight to the source and survey your employees. Design a questionnaire to gauge job satisfaction, how the organization can better support employees, and wellness programs team members would like to access.

Additionally, look for patterns in job performance. Are workers chronically late on deadlines? Is your workforce frequently pulling extra hours and still failing to meet expectations? Excessive absenteeism could signify your business goals and resources don't align and you're burning out your team. 

2. Improve employee wellness services

No one wants to work when they don't feel good, and employees that are physically, emotionally, and mentally strong are far more likely to perform at their full potential. 

Employers can make small changes, like encouraging employees to take breaks, designing fitness challenges, or providing wellness classes like yoga or meditation. Creating a wellness budget that covers fitness classes and massages or paying for professional development opportunities like career coaches will improve engagement and performance, too.

Taking an active interest in your employees' wellness sends a message: you value them. If they feel valued, they’ll care more about you and the position more generally and will work harder to stick around. 

3. Reach out to individual employees

Set up a meeting to discuss what’s causing an employee to miss work. Be sensitive and open to hearing ways you or the organization can improve.

And show your vulnerability — leaders who share their flaws are perceived more positively by their employees. Expressing your own struggle might make employees feel safe enough to share their own. You can then work together to create an absence management strategy employees feel ready to take on. 

Get back on track

Life happens, and sometimes your job takes a back seat. Missing work is acceptable when properly communicated with the team and support is provided to fill in the gaps. 

If you find yourself falling into serious absenteeism or dealing with an employee that’s chronically missing work, take action immediately to avoid escalation.

Identify the problem, communicate with relevant coworkers, and create a strategy with management where you feel supported and ready to make a change — or help others make theirs.