Data-driven Wellbeing and Absenteeism
"Less absenteeism starts with you - Are you taking advantage of all your resources?"
Your organization is facing high absenteeism, which is impacting productivity, workplace atmosphere, and overall business performance. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), absenteeism in the Netherlands was 5.5% in the first quarter of 2024. Although this is an improvement from 2023, it remains higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 4.7% in Q1 2019 and previous years. Notably, 1 in 5 workers reported that their most recent absence was partly or entirely due to work-related issues. This presents a clear opportunity for employers to address and improve workplace conditions.
You likely already invest in employee wellbeing, but is it truly effective? While you may have basic dashboards, a PMO, and interventions aimed at reducing absenteeism, these often lack in-depth analysis. Consequently, you might not be effectively identifying, monitoring, and addressing the root causes of absenteeism, leading to generic and ineffective interventions.
A recent study in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology found that companies unable to utilize detailed data analysis often experience absenteeism rates 30% higher than the average. This translates to significant additional costs, loss of manpower, and increased workload for remaining employees, creating a negative cycle. In the workplace, this manifests as:
- Colleagues skipping breaks to meet deadlines.
- Employees working overtime and missing family dinners.
- Projects stalling because a new project manager needs to be hired and onboarded.
- Increased workloads resulting in shorter customer call times and decreased customer satisfaction.
- The longer you delay addressing absenteeism, the more employees will miss work, exacerbating these issues.
Imagine everyone in your organization full of energy at work. How wonderful that would be. Therefore, the important question: how do you effectively improve employee wellbeing?
"How do you address employee wellness?"
These six data-driven resources will help you reduce absenteeism and increase vitality:
- What causes absenteeism and which factors can you influence?
- What are the type off employees at risk for Absenteeism?
- What are the bottlenecks in our current system?
- What are realistic objectives for absenteeism reduction per manager or department?
- How healthy are my employees, and are we taking the right wellbeing approach?
- Will Absenteeism disrupt our operations?
- How can we optimize the use of absenteeism professionals, such as company doctor and case managers?
- What is a realistic savings target to aim for?
- Is our absenteeism approach effective? Which interventions and providers deliver results?