Academic literature on the topic 'Employee absenteeism – South Africa – Stellenbosch'

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Human beings are constantly confronted with change because their current situation is continually being questioned. In order to change the way humans behave, it is necessary to change the mindset of those who will be influenced by new ideas. Stellenbosch Municipality faces a dilemma because the current management of its employee attendance is having a negative impact on its daily operations – service delivery is becoming an increasingly serious concern because the inability to manage employees’ daily attendance results in inefficient and ineffective rendering of services to citizens. This research addresses the question of whether the change from a manual attendance register to a biometric time and attendance system would more effectively ensure the availability of Municipal employees to improve basic service delivery. Moreover, the dilemma Stellenbosch Municipality faces concerns the monitoring of employees on a daily basis, including the availability of an attendance register for audit purposes. A questionnaire was used to examine the situation and obtain responses from employees who make use of both the manual attendance register and the biometric time and attendance device. It was established that the use of the manual attendance register caused certain problems, although it has served a monitoring purpose for more than 30 years. At the time of answering the questionnaire, some respondents requested the implementation of an electronic system with real-time capability to remove any doubt concerning the confirmation of employee attendance. The feedback from the questionnaire confirms: - the unreliability of a human-dependent employee attendance register; - that delivery of basic services can only be done on condition of the availability of employees who report for duty; and - that the use of the manual attendance system creates unrecoverable losses. The inability of employees to maintain their manual attendance registers led to the recommendation that: - a mechanised system needs to be implemented to reduce administration procedures and to secure compliance and an unqualified audit.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Mense word voortdurend met verandering gekonfronteer omdat hul huidige situasie gedurig bevraagteken word. Ten einde die manier waarop mense optree te verander, is dit nodig om die geestesingesteldheid van diegene wat deur nuwe idees beïnvloed sal word te verander. Die Munisipaliteit Stellenbosch staan voor ’n dilemma omdat die huidige bestuur van sy werknemerbywoning ’n negatiewe uitwerking op sy daaglikse werksaamhede het – dienslewering word ’n al ernstiger saak weens die onvermoë om werknemers se daaglikse bywoningsresultate by onbekwame en ondoeltreffende lewering van dienste aan dorpsbewoners te bestuur. Hierdie navorsing ondersoek die vraagstuk of die omskakeling van ’n bywoningsregister per hand na ’n biometriese tyd- en bywoningstelsel die beskikbaarheid van munisipale werknemers meer effektief sal verseker om basiese dienslewering te verbeter. Hierbenewens het die dilemma van die Munisipaliteit Stellenbosch te doen met die daaglikse monitering van werknemers, waaronder die beskikbaarheid van ’n bywoningsregister vir ouditeringsdoeleindes. ’n Vraelys is gebruik om die situasie te ondersoek en reaksies te verkry van werknemers wat van die bywoningsregister per hand sowel as die biometriese tyd- en bywoningsinstrument gebruik maak. Daar is vasgestel dat die bywoningsregister per hand sekere probleme veroorsaak het, hoewel dit langer as 30 jaar ’n moniteringsdoel gedien het. Met die beantwoording van die vraelys het party respondente die implementering van ’n elektroniese stelsel met intydse vermoë versoek om enige twyfel omtrent die bevestiging van werknemerbywoning te verwyder. Die terugvoering van die vraelys bevestig: - die onbetroubaarheid van ’n menslik afhanklike werknemerbywoningsregister; - dat lewering van basiese dienste slegs kan plaasvind op voorwaarde van die beskikbaarheid van werknemers wat vir diens aanmeld; en - dat die gebruik van die bywoningstelsel per hand onverhaalbare verliese skep. Die onvermoë van werknemers om hul bywoningsregisters per hand by te hou het gelei tot die aanbeveling dat: - ’n gemeganiseerde stelsel geïmplementeer moet word om administratiewe prosedures te verminder; en om ’n ongekwalifiseerde ouditering te verseker.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil<br>The right to fair dismissal in South Africa is prescribed in the Labour Relation Act 66 of 1995 as amended. Employees may only be dismissed on grounds of misconduct, incapacity and operational requirements. The requirements for dismissal of employees based on misconduct and incapacity are further addressed in Schedule 8 to the LRA, the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal. Dismissal for misconduct needs to be fair in terms of both procedure and substance. Procedural fairness generally involves holding a disciplinary hearing before dismissing an employee. In terms of the South African Public Service Act 103 of 1994 as amended, an employee who absents him-/herself from official duties without permission of his or her head of department, office or institution for a period exceeding one calendar month is deemed dismissed by operation of law. Employees dismissed as such by operation of law in terms of the PSA are therefore not afforded the right to appear in the disciplinary hearing as provided for in the LRA. South African courts have dealt with a number of cases relating to dismissal by operation of law in the public service. Some of the employees dismissed were reinstated by the courts. Reasons for reinstatement included failing to meet the jurisdictional requirements before invoking dismissal by operation of law. The research will attempt to clarify the substantive and procedural steps required to render a dismissal by operation of law in terms of the PSA fair in South Africa.

Absenteeism places huge financial burdens on organisations and has a detrimental effect on productivity. Aware of the direct and indirect costs associated with absenteeism, management must determine what factors are responsible for the absenteeism and how these factors can be rectified in order to reduce the rate of employee absenteeism in the organisation. The study’s main aims were firstly to determine which key factors are responsible for employees being absent from work and secondly, how they can be rectified in order to reduce absenteeism. From the data that was obtained from the literature study stress, substance abuse, lack of job commitment and organisational factors account for some reasons given for absenteeism. Employee absenteeism may also be partly due to not enough emphasis being placed on career development, staff retention and salaries. Other causes of absenteeism include personal responsibilities, lack of motivation and low morale in the workplace. Only recently have managers become aware of the true impact which alcohol and substance abuse have on organisations. More productivity is lost through on-the-job absenteeism than due to any other single factor. On-the-job absenteeism is difficult to define and very difficult to identify. Such absenteeism includes the presence of employees at work while they are sick but incapable of performing to their true capabilities – this often occurring on Mondays or Fridays or the day after payday. With current staff retention programs, mergers and joint ventures, organisations now demand the same level of production with fewer employees. This has given rise to an increase in the level of stress employees experience, which led to stress becoming a key factor responsible for absenteeism. When managing absenteeism the implementation of a proper measurement system is essential. This will enable the company to determine the extent of their absenteeism. An evaluation and comparison of these statistics over a period of time will also shed light on the nature of the absenteeism. These will result in the proactive handling of a company’s absenteeism. This is also the first step away from the acceptance of absenteeism and subsequently the nurturing of an absence culture. Employers can take a number of steps to reduce absenteeism, such as giving responsibility for absence management to senior or human resource managers rather than line managers, introducing return to work interviews, introducing discipline procedures and others. The great majority of absence management solutions completely overlook organisational factors, instead focusing on individual, claim processing and health-related factors in the quest to reduce lost productive days. Absence management programs should focus on organisational (not individual) drivers of absence to encourage a present and committed workforce. Absenteeism will never be eradicated, but through careful management organisations can reduce the absentee rate and the effect it has on the organization.

Absenteeism can be a major problem for organisations. As pressures increase on the budgets and competitiveness of companies, more attention is being given to reduce workplace absenteeism and its cost. Job satisfaction has been noted as one of the factors influencing an employee's motivation to attend. Studies on the relationship between absenteeism and job satisfaction seem to be inconsistent. Some research has found no correlation between these two variables whereas other studies indicate a weak to moderate relationship between these two variables. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism in a selected department within and Electricity Unit in the Western Cape.

Attendance in the workplace is becoming a growing challenge for companies or organisations in general. Non-attendance has become a world-wide or international problem. According to Banks, Patel and Moola (2012) it is a common problem in all types of industries, minor or large, private or government. South African organisations are losing estimated billions of rand in cost annually due to poor attendance. These costs are having a negative effect on organisations’ revenue, effectiveness, health and safety. A satisfactory level of employee attendance at work is necessary to allow departments within organisations to achieve their objectives and targets. Research suggests many factors which influence employee attendance and these are investigated, analysed and discussed within this study. The aim of the study was to attempt to improve attendance at an automotive manufacturing company by investigating the influences of certain elements, namely motivation, leadership (supportive), job satisfaction and rewards. The literature study was done to investigate the relationship between these factors and elements and attendance. Through research the realisation of the importance of controlling absenteeism has become very imminent. The literature review has shown that these factors are related to attendance, some of them influencing the tendency to attend work positively and others having a negative influence causing employees to be absent from work. The study also investigates some of the common possible reasons and motives for non-attendance. The empirical part of the study was to determine the perception of workers with regard to attendance. A convenience sampling method was used to select the respondents and the size of the sample consisted of 198 respondents. A researched and well-designed questionnaire was used to gather the data. The information was analysed with the latest statistics software package. Independent tests and analysis of various techniques were used to determine the statistical significant differences in the relationship between attendance and the elements with regard to employee perception. These perceptions were grouped in biographical categories, namely race, age, shop, service length, marital status, gender, income and the number of days absent in the last three years. Through the study statistically no actual significant difference was found among these groups. The key findings within this study show that there are no significant relationships between the dependent variable (attendance) and the independent variables, (motivation, leadership, job satisfaction and rewards). This relation is highlighted by the statistical data which is discussed and analysed individually for this study The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations based on these findings are provided.

Thesis (MScSportSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: For many companies, health care can consume half of corporate profits or more. Some employers look to cost sharing, cost shifting, managed care plans, risk rating and cash based rebates or incentives. These methods merely shift costs. Absenteeism in South Africa claims 3.2% of all scheduled work hours, 43 000 work hours per week, 9 days lost per employee per year and 1 employee in every 15 on a weekly basis. The main objective of this study was to establish the effect of a physical wellness intervention on the chronic absenteeism of a governmental company like Eskom. Fiftyfour males with a mean age of 42.13 years, participated in the program. Morphological and physiological variables included fat percentage; body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, blood pressure (BP), flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, waist circumference and muscle endurance. The participants were divided into four groups consisting of 12-15 individuals. Data was collected over a period of six months (March-August 2001). There were six sessions in which the subjects participated namely: wellness awareness, general body wellness, heart wellness, stress wellness, posture wellness and nutritional wellness. These sessions focussed on education, testing and physical activity, with follow-ups and maintenance at the Biokinetic rehabilitation station. Trends for the group were traced using a statistical analysis for absenteeism tallying the GSAR (gross sickness absentee rate) and AFR (absentee frequency rate) for the participants. The GSAR and AFR were significantly lower during the intervention. The return of investment was calculated based on the amount of hours worked per month on the August 2001 payroll, where the increment figure is based on an average increase of 7.9%. The result of the study concluded that work-site body wellness is health care reform that works, with absenteeism decreasing significantly and an improved employee health status.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Baie maatskappye kan die helfte of meer van hul wins aan gesondheidsorg spandeer. Sommige werkgewers oorweeg kostedeling, verskuiwing van kostes, gesondheidsorgplanne, risikobepaling en kontantkortings of aansporings. Hierdie metodes skuif eerder net koste. In Suid-Afrika word 3.2% van alle geskeduleerde werksure as gevolg van afwesigheid verloor, 43 000 werksure per week, 9 dae per werknemer per jaar en 1 werknemer uit elke 15 op 'n weeklikse basis. Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om die effek van 'n fisieke welstand intervensie op die chroniese afwesigheid van 'n parastatale maatskappy soos Eskom daar te stel. Vier en vyftig mans met 'n gemiddelde ouderdom van 42.13 jaar het aan die program deelgeneem. Morfologiese en fisiologiese veranderlikes het vetpersentasie; liggaamsmass-indeks (LMI), cholesterol, bloeddruk (BD), soepelheid, kardiovaskulêre uithouvermoë, abdominale omtrek en spieruithouvermoë ingesluit. Die deelnemers is in vier groepe verdeel wat uit 12-15 persone bestaan het. Data is oor 'n periode van ses maande ingesamel (Maart-Augustus 2001). Die deelnemers het aan die volgende ses sessies deelgeneem: bewustheid van welstand, algemene liggaamlike welstand, hartwelstand, streswelstand, postuurwelstand en dieetwelstand. Hierdie sessies het op die opvoeding, toetsing en fisieke aktiwiteit gefokus met opvolg-ondersoeke en instandhouding by die Biokinetika rehabilitasiestasie. Neigings vir die groep is opgevolg deur statistiese analise vir afwesigheid deur die TSAS (totale siekte afwesigheidsyfer) en AFS (afwesigheidsfrekwensiesyfer) vir die deelnemers aan te teken. Die TSAS en AFS was beduidend laer tydens die intervensie. Die beleggingsopbrengs is bereken op die aantal ure per maand op die Augustus 2001 . betaalstaat met die toenamesyfer gebaseer op die gemiddelde verhoging van 7.9%. Die resultaat van die studie is dat liggaamlike welstand by die werksplek voordelig is vir gesondheidsorgverbetering en dat afwesigheid beduidend afneem terwyl daar ook 'n verbetering in die gesondheidstatus van werknemers was.

Thesis (MTech (Public Administration)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018.<br>Organisations spend large sums of money on staff after they have been recruited in order to make them proficient in their jobs. It is therefore important to ensure that staff remain with the organisation for as long as possible, allowing the organisation to reap the benefit from its investment in the form of good performance by staff. Work performance can however, be affected negatively when labour turnover is high. This research project reflects on staff turnover amongst professional nurses, posing the question, “What can be done to alleviate high staff turnover?” A quantitative approach to research was followed within a Western Cape Metropolitan Municipality. The significance of the research is reflected in the recommendations made to the management of the municipality to address staff turnover in the specified category of employees.

M. Tech. Business Administration<br>The objective of this study was to identify factors that are responsible for employee absenteeism in Vodacom SA, which is the largest mobile cell phone company in South Africa. In the literature, it has been extensively reported that absenteeism is a major cause of loss of income and revenues among mobile cell phone operators in South Africa. The purpose of this study was to identify the root causes of absenteeism in the cellular phone industry in South Africa. Data was collected from a random sample of 120 employees of Vodacom SA working in Midrand.

M. Tech. Business Administration<br>The subject of absenteeism in human resources management literature has considerably dominated centre stage at a global level. Based on the National Department of Health's 2011 Quarterly Report, absenteeism in the department has for long been claimed to be on the rise. As a result, it has been said to be causing detrimental repercussions on the department's capacity to deliver sufficient health facilities to society as it is constitutionally mandated. It is against the background of these claims that the researcher has been prompted to evaluate the factors causing absenteeism in the National Department of Health and further recommending appropriate remedial measures that can be enforced to minimise and ultimately curb such high rates of absenteeism. The aim of the study is to explore and evaluate the relevant causes of absenteeism in the National Department of Health.

A research report submitted to The Faculty of Management University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management<br>Research in America shows that the traditional lifestyles (poor diet, lack of exercise, chronic illness, poor stress management and substance abuse) play a large role in causing the major dreaded diseases like cancer, coronary heart disease and strokes, and impact negatively on absenteeism. Traditional lifestyles and absenteeism (absent without permission and sick leave) of 126 employees were measured in a manufacturing plant, and the results correlated by using the Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Co-efficient and co- efficient of determination. It was established that the traditional lifestyle behaviours do impact on absenteeism i.e. the more severe the lifestyle and the unhealthier lifestyle practised, the higher the individual absenteeism is likely to be. There was no correlation between age and absenteeism and job grade and absenteeism. Before applying the traditional absentee reducing interventions, an organisation should measure lifestyles of their employees and if unhealthy, lifestyle change interventions should be introduced before or concurrently with traditional absentee reducing interventions if days absent are mainly due to sick leave.<br>AC2017