Absenteeism is simply defined as an individual’s frequent pattern of evasion from an obligation or duty. The behavior of absenteeism is normally evidenced in work places where some workers may decide to make absenteeism their habit.
There are various reasons that could make workers be frequently absent from their duties Some of these reasons include sickness, which happens to be the most common among other reasons such as poor working conditions and laziness (Sagie, 1998, p.157). In most cases, people view absenteeism as an indication of poor performance.
This is because absenteeism goes against the contractual agreement between the employer and the employee. This paper will therefore, focus on the issue of absenteeism in British Leyland by looking at the, behavioral theories of absenteeism, possible causes of absenteeism, technology of solving the problem, and the implementation of the solution at British Leyland.
To begin with will be a discussion on the behavioral theories of absenteeism, which includes dynamic conflict, non-attendance, informal contract, social exchange, and withdrawal just to mention a few (Sagie, 1998, p. 162).
All the aforementioned behavioral theories of absenteeism revolve around the relationship and agreement made between the employer and the employees. As such, absenteeism could be as a result of the forfeiture of the contractual agreement or it could lead to the breach of the contract depending on the situation.
Just as many companies face the problem of absenteeism, so is British Leyland. Actually, Leyland is experiencing the highest rate of absenteeism according to a report by BBC Nation. From the report, it is depicted that more than double of the population is a victim of absenteeism. In fact, the rate per week from Monday to Friday is about 15 to 25 per cent.
This high rate of absenteeism eventually leads to inefficiency in the productivity of the company hence the company operates on losses. According to the article, this high rate of absenteeism could be as a result of poor industrial relations with the workers making them absent themselves from work. The other as mentioned by one of the workers at British Leyland Company could be the legacy of the Liverpool’s dock system of labor.
Given the fact that the problem of absenteeism at British Leyland is at a high rate, a solution ought to be made in order to prevent the company from collapsing. The solutions to be made need to be of technical and social nature.
First, the company should put in place a communication system through which the workers of the company can air their views regarding the working conditions in the company since they form the main reason of absenteeism.
By installing an effective information communication technology, the company will be in a position of knowing the problems of the workers early in advance hence solving them before it could lead to problems such as absenteeism and go slows. Secondly, as it has been mentioned in the article the ‘Right To Work’ campaign is also another way that could be used to prevent incidences of absenteeism at British Leyland.
There are various ways of implementing the solutions mentioned above. The company could add to their communication system an option for workers to give their complements or complains with regard to the working conditions in the company.
This option could also give an opportunity for the workers to give their views on any improvements they would wish to be made by the company regarding their affairs in the company. Last but not least, the company should give the workers off duties among other incentive schemes as a way of motivating them hence preventing incidences of absenteeism (Riketta, 2002, p. 262).
Reference List
Riketta, M. (2002). Attitudinal organizational commitment and job performance: a meta- analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 257-266.
Sagie, A. (1998). Employee Absenteeism, Organizational Commitment, and Job Satisfaction: Another look. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 52, 156-171.