Though this particular research may have several questions, there is notably one research question that needs to be addressed and answered. The main question shall be; what are the main causes of absenteeism among the junior administrators in the organization? However, other secondary questions are likely to arise from this particular research. They include the following:-
- What are the major types of absenteeism among junior supervisors?
- What is the junior administrators take on their job? The main aim of this question is to get to know whether the junior administrators like their job or not.
- What are the responsibilities assigned to the junior administrator? When this question is put across, it aims at finding out whether the junior administrators are necessary to the organization. It is necessary to find out whether the cause of their absenteeism is due to the fact that there lacks the need of the junior administrators in the organization.
The value of this particular research is to find the underlying causes of absenteeism by the junior administrators. Through finding the main causes of this absenteeism, the employers and the managers can come up with a solution that is going to ensure a solution to the problem. The research will also be of value to the organization, which means that the organization is likely to meet its organizational objectives, since there shall be a good administration if the problem that causes absence of the junior administrators is solved. Achieving such goals means that the organization is likely to improve on its growth, which increases its competitive edge in the market.
The research in question may be of benefit to different organizations and institutions. To start with, the employers and the managers can become aware of the problem in question, and may work in a way to resolve their part of the problem to improve the situation. There is also another benefit for the organization since it shall get to meet its goals in case there are problems that are brought about by presence of junior supervisors.
There are potential difficulties that occur in carrying out the research. To start with, such information is sometimes confidential to the organization. The organization therefore, may be reluctant to give it forth. Another problem is lack of cooperation by the target population. The fact that the target population may also be a part of the group of people who are absent means that there is a risk that they may not offer the information adequately, or may even lie.
Absenteeism of workers comes with various different reasons, among them being the fact that the junior administrators may be absent due health issues. It would therefore, be wise to ensure that such is put into consideration when carrying a research that seeks to reduces the rate of absence of the workers (Tittle, 2000). The meaning of this therefore, is that the employers make attempts to accommodate those people who are absent due to counseling, treatment and rehabilitation issues. Another ethical issue that arises from the absence of the workers has to do with how to accommodate the workers who miss work due to lack of discipline. It is important to be sure that the administrator is missing work due to indiscipline so as to enforce the necessary action that leads to improvement of the trend.
The value of this research would be to bring to attention to the employers and the seniors in organizations of a way to ensure that there is a consistence turnout of the workers. The junior administrators play a very important role in the organization and the fact that they are often absent means that some of the activities that go on within the organization may stall (Tittle, 2000).
Literature review
Absenteeism amongst junior administrators or other workers can be defined as unauthorized leave. It can further be termed as a scenario where the employee fails to show up at work at the scheduled time that he/she is supposed to, without permission, a sanction or even a notice. However, it is notable that there are various types of absenteeism in existence.
The following are some of the main types of absenteeism.
- Authorized Absenteeism: in this particular absenteeism, the employee or the officer applies through the required channels for his or her absenteeism. He/she does it through the use of a permission form, and within the organizations rules and regulation. The management or the employer is usually in the knowledge of this particular absenteeism (Priyadarshini, 2009).
- Unauthorized absenteeism: it is the opposite of authorized absenteeism. In this particular absenteeism, the worker does not apply for a leave or make known to the employer of the fact that he/ she will not be in the job (Volinski, 1999).
- Willful absenteeism: it a type of absenteeism that is brought about by the fact that the employee is not willing to take responsibilities of the work assigned to him/her. In this particular absenteeism the employee fails to show up for work for his/her own selfish reasons (Priyadarshini, 2009).
- Circumstantial absenteeism: as the name suggests, this is absenteeism caused by circumstances beyond the employee control. Such may include things like accidents or sickness (Priyadarshini, 2009).
Causes of absenteeism
There are various causes of absenteeism amongst workers. They include the following;
- Accidents: in case the worker encounters injury in the cause of his work in the organization, there is a very high probability of the worker not to show up in case the accident is too severe for him/her to work (Stellman, 1998).
- Lack of leave arrangement. An organization that has no leave for the workers is likely to be a promoter of absenteeism among the workers. Humans are not like machines and they need a break at one point or the other. It is therefore only fair for the organization to offer leaves after a certain point in time for its workers (Priyadarshini, 2009).
- Lower wages. In case there are low wages, the workers may lack the motivation needed to continue working consistently. In turn they may fail to show up in their working places.
- Alcoholism: a major problem within the organization and workers is alcoholism. Some employees are such drunkards that they forget that they have to work. On the same note, there are other workers who have a gambling problem. The two addictions can be of much influence to the workers until they forget their responsibility of working (Priyadarshini, 2009).
- Nature of the work: the way the work is, can cause incidences of absenteeism. The meaning of this is that the work may be so tiring for the workers to show up the following day.
Dealing with absenteeism
Since sometimes absenteeism is unavoidable, there is need that the problem is minimized or even resolved. It is also notable that the best way to resolve the problem is using positive intervention rather than using punitive approach. The following are ways to resolve the issue;
- Proper management styles: when a certain organization has authoritative managers or supervisors, there is a very high likelihood of employees failing to show up at work. The fact that some of these managers have poor communication skills and are inflexible in nature is one of the causes of absenteeism (Daily Mail, 2010).
- Improving working conditions: if the working conditions in existence in the organization are improved, the employees are likely to be motivated to show up in work consistently. Among the various working conditions that require improving is the relationship between the various workers in the organization (Daily Mail, 2010).
- Provision of incentives: the importance of this is to provide the workers with a boost or motivation to avoid absenteeism. Such can be done through organizations allowing the employees to cash in the sick days not used (Vikesland, 2007).
Research methodology
The main focus in this particular research is to determine why junior administrators have a high rate of absenteeism in their workplace. In general, methodology entails outlining the procedures that will be followed in conducting the research. The following is the structured method; Research strategy, research design, sources of data, sampling technique, method of data collection, data recording instruments, and methods of data collection.
The type of research in question is an inductive research. This is due to the fact that it aims to solve the problem, which it is believed to exist. An inductive research is the type of research where the element of probability is introduced. The meaning of this is that there is a broad statement that the junior administrators are often absent from their work place. The research only comes in to try and reduce the rate of this problem, which is believed to be in existence.
In this particular research, a check list will be used as one of the research strategies to make sure that all what is anticipated is completed in time. This is a qualitative research. The reasoning behind this is due to the fact that the information is gotten from interviews and questionnaires. The information is also not analyzed in numerical terms.
In order to finish up the research successfully, there is need to ensure adequate finances and that the right target population is determined. Determining the target population ensures that the resources are used in the right way. The issue of scope should be included. The right scope of the research should be determined to ensure that the data attained is conclusive.
Sample Questionnaire
- A.1. For how long have you worked with you organization?
- A.1……………………………………………………………………
- A.2 What position are you in the organization?
- A.2……………………………………………………………………
- A.3. Of those years have you ever failed to go to work?
- A.3……………………………………………………………………
- A.4. if yes, how often do you fail to go to work?
- A.4……………………………………………………………………
- A.5. What was the cause of your absence from work?
- A.5……………………………………………………………………
- A.6.What do you think can be done to make sure there is reduction in the rate of of absence from work?
- A.6……………………………………………………………………
The structure of the questionnaire is aimed at making sure that the respondents are comfortable in relaying the information that is needed from them. It is also evident that the questionnaire is made in such a way that only the important question related to the problem are included (Battey, 2010). The position of the workers interviewed was necessary so as to define the specific group of people that are faced with the problem majorly.
From the feedback gotten, it was evident that the junior administrative members are largest group of people that fail to show up in their work. The data was also clear to show that a big number of them missed going to work without filling the permission form. Though filling the permission form was a requirement of most of the organization, many workers failed to fill it since frustrations by the management was the main cause of their absence from work. Most workers were not contented with the management style used to run the organization.
Specifically, authoritative managers were the main people that caused absenteeism amongst the members. Low wages were also a big cause of the absenteeism among the junior workers. Some of them felt that they were underpaid and some of the absent days were spent to search for jobs with better pay. Finally, there was a small portion of them that failed to show up at their work place due to the fact that they were sick. However, it is evident that most of these workers had notified the administration about their condition.
List of references
Battey, K. (2010) Survey Questions and Answer Types . Web.
Daily Mail. (2010) Drive out employee absenteeism (by giving workers free cars). Web.
Priyadarshini M. ( 2009) Absenteeism Among Workers. Web.
Stellman, J. M. (1998) Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety. Geneva, International Labour Organization.
Tittle, P. (2000) Ethical Issues in Business: Inquiries, Cases, and Readings. New York, Broadview Press.
Vikesland, G. (2007) How to Deal with Employee Absenteeism. Web.
Volinski, J. ( 1999) Practices in Assuring Employee Availability. Washinton D. C, Transportation Research Board.