What is absenteeism, and what HR strategies can reduce it?

• A. Absence from work beyond planned leave; strategies include welfare support, flexible hours, engaging work, and attendance policies.
• B. Overtime work; strategies include hiring more staff.
• C. Arriving late occasionally; strategies include punitive measures.
• D. Taking long breaks; strategies include monitoring.

Answer: (A)

Absenteeism means not being at work when you are supposed to be, beyond planned time off. It disrupts production, increases costs, and can place extra pressure on colleagues. The strongest HR response focuses on why people miss work and how to support them. Welfare support helps employees manage health problems or personal issues that might lead to absence. Flexible hours or hybrid options let staff handle personal commitments without needing to take unplanned days off. Providing engaging, meaningful work boosts motivation and reduces the temptation to stay away. Clear attendance policies set expectations and provide a fair framework for managing absences, while tracking patterns and conducting return‑to‑work discussions helps identify underlying causes and offer targeted help. The other options describe different issues—for example, overtime tackles workload rather than absence; punitive measures for arriving late can damage morale and don’t address missing days; and monitoring long breaks targets time usage rather than preventing days not worked.