"You Faker!"

According to a CCH survey of 305 human resource departments, as reported in the Sunday September 25, 2005 edition of the Chicago Tribune (Section 13, Page 1), when you're not really ill, but you want/need/deserve a day off, the solution is to call in 'sick.'

Reasons for unscheduled absences in 2004

• 38% Personal illness
• 23% Family issues - child/parent's doctor appointments, etc.
• 18% Personal needs - personal doctor appointment, trip to traffic court, car maintenance, etc.
• 11% Stress
• 10% Entitlement mentality

Yet from a boss's perspective - especially in an operations environment - unscheduled absences are the most difficult to manage because of coverage issues. So in that more than 3 out of every 5 unscheduled absence could actually be scheduled if handled appropriately, what's a boss to do?

What do YOU do?

1. How do you encourage your staff to tell you about these upcoming family/personal appointments in advance so you can give them the time they need (and will take anyway) and insure proper coverage in your area, notwithstanding?
2. How do you encourage your staff to schedule their mental health days so that you can give them the time they need (and will take anyway) ?
3. How do you respond to these unscheduled absences when they do occur so as to encourage advance notice of them in the future?

You really can't stop people from taking time off when they feel they need to, but you can encourage them to give you enough notice to mitigate the problems their absences will, in all likelihood, create.