Employee Absenteeism

CHAPTER-1
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Absence is the failure of worker to report for work when he is scheduled to the work. A
work is to be treated as absent for the purpose of this absenteeism statistics even when he
does not turn up for a week after obtaining prior permission.
K.G. Desai classified absenteeism in to two types viz, authorized absenteeism and
unauthorized absenteeism. Authorized absenteeism is permitted absenteeism i.e, taking
leave prior permission of an employer. Unauthorized absenteeism means taking leave
without prior permission of an employer. Absence of worker on account of strike or lock
out or layoff i.e, involuntary absent is not considered as absence for the purpose of
absenteeism study.
Absenteeism rate is the percentage of man days lost due to voluntary absent (both
authorized and unauthorized) to the corresponding total man days schedule to work. It
can be expressed as under:
Man days lost (both authorized and unauthorized)

-----------------------------------------------------------X 100
Man days scheduled to work
According to K.N vaid absenteeism can be measured with the help of the
following formula
Persons not working due to

Authorized leave + unauthorized leave
Absence Rate = -------------------------------------------------------------------- X 100
Man shifts actually worked
EMPLOYEE ABSENTEEISM
1
According to the view of K. Aswathappa, Absenteeism costs money to the organization
besides reflecting employee dissatisfaction with the company. Absenteeism is
unavoidable when the employee himself or herself falls sick, His or her dependents at
home suddenly become unwell or there is an accident inside the plant. Unavoidable
absenteeism is accepted by managers and is even sanctioned by labor laws. Avoidable
absenteeism arises due to night shifts, opportunities for moon lighting and earning extra
income, indebt ness, lack of job security, unfriendly supervision and job dissatisfaction.
This absenteeism needs intervention by the management.
Absenteeism is of two types –

1. Innocent absenteeism - Is one in which the employee is absent from work due to
genuine cause or reason. It may be due to his illness or personal family problem or any
other real reason
2. Culpable Absenteeism - is one in which a person is absent from work without any
genuine reason or cause. He may be pretending to be ill or just wanted a holiday and
stay at home.
Many employees will, on occasions, need a few days off work because of illness,
however, when absences become more frequent or long term and reach an
unacceptable level, action by management is necessary. Absence from work can be
expensive in both monetary and human terms. The costs incurred when an
employee is absent from work may include:
(i) Replacing the employee or requiring other staff to cover the absence;
(ii) Inability to provide services, or achieve section and departmental objectives;
(iii) Low morale and general dissatisfaction from other staff, particularly if the
absence is perceived as unwarranted.
2
Effects of absenteeism on Industry
Absenteeism
↓
Affects production targets

↓
Increases the work load of inexperienced & less experienced

↓
Leads to rejection of finished products

↓
Increases the cost of production

↓
Lowers the Profit margin

↓
Affects Industrial growth
3
Effects of absenteeism on the employees
Absenteeism
↓
Reduces his earnings

↓
Adds his indebtedness

↓
Decreases the Purchasing power

↓
Leads to family problems

↓
Increases mental stress

↓
Leads to inefficiency in his job

↓
4
Loss of employment
PECULIAR FEATURES OF ABSENTEEISM:
On the basis of micro studies undertaken in different parts of the country, certain
observations may be made.
a. The rate of absenteeism is the lowest on pay day; it increases considerably on the
days following the payments of wages and bonus.
b. Absenteeism is generally high among workers below 15 years of age and those
above 40. The younger employees are not regular and punctual, presumably because of
the employment of a large number of newcomers among the younger age groups. While
the older people are not able to withstand the strenuous nature of the work.
c. The rate of absenteeism varies from department to department within a unit. As the
size of the group increases, the rate of absenteeism goes up. This difference in the rate
of absenteeism is believed to be due to the peculiar style and practices of management,
the composition of the laborer force and the culture of the organization.
d. The percentage of absenteeism is generally higher in the day shifts.
e. The percentage of absenteeism is much higher in coal and mining industries than in
organized industries
f. Absenteeism in India is seasonal in character.
g. It is the highest during March-April-may, when a land has to be prepared for
monsoon saving, and also in the harvest season, when the rate goes as high as 40
percent.
5
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Integra is a company with 1,500 employees and it is a developing company getting a
new reputation in the field of e-publishing. So it is very essential for the company to
concentrate in the employee’s commitment towards the work assessed for him. It is
also easier to find the employee’s satisfaction towards his job by conducting a study
on employee absenteeism which thereby helps the company to retain its employee,
since it is found that there is a low rate of labor turnover in this company. So, this
study will help the company to adopt measures to reduce absenteeism and to increase
the employee’s commitment towards his job by knowing the factors which remains as
a hindrance for the employee to be punctual towards his job.
6
1.3 NEED FOR STUDY
One of the major problems affecting the precious resource of any organization is
absenteeism. Absenteeism is not only an individual problem but also a social as well as
economic problem of our country. When absenteeism becomes a habit there is not only
general lowering of morale, but also results in loss and deterioration of skill and
efficiency. This may lead an organization to attain reduced productivity. Decrease in
production will affect the profits of the company.
To control the rate of absenteeism we should know what absenteeism is and study
the factors such as personal factors, social factors and environmental factors responsible
for absenteeism. Reducing the rate of absenteeism is not a simple task.
So, there is a great need for the research and analysis of absenteeism in the
organization.
7
8
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
• To study the general causes for employee absenteeism
• To analyse the workplace factors which leads to employee absenteeism in the

organization
• To find out the most prominent general and worklife factors that leads to
absenteeism in the organization
9
1.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
 The information provided by them may be subjected to personal bias.

 Some of the respondents were not interested to express their views.
 It is possible that some of the respondents feel that the management has backed
the study and hence the reliability of the response.
 Due to time constraints and busy schedules it was difficult to interact with the
employees completely.
10
CHAPTER-2
PROFILE OF THE COMPANY
2.1Introduction
Integra is one of the leading pre –publishing services companies, in the world
providing end-to-end content management and content transformation services
including high quality digital typewriter-publishing services (SGML, XML) data
conversion and related services for books and journals, for various publishers,
press and corporate, around the world. For over a decade, Integra has been
offering a full range of high end publishing services for professionals and
educational books/journals, reference books, elementary high school and college
text books, custom made course material, user manuals and catalogues, financial
and legal publications.
2.2 History
Integra has emerged from a team of 5 in 1994 in over 1000 professionals

today. Integra specializes in providing full service project management-publishing
for books and journals, data conversion services archival solutions and a host of
value added services. Having its headquarters in Pondicherry, India, Integra has its
global service delivery centers at Pondicherry and Chennai, and wholly owned
subsidiaries in UK (Cambrideshire) and USA ( Chicago & New York).
11
2.3 Leadership team
Sriram Subramanian founder, MD and CEO, Integra’s core management group consists
of professionals with several years experience in the IT industry. This group is backed up
by a team of around 800 highly qualified professionals, working together effectively with
a willingness to explore new ideas and learn endlessly, setting exceptional standards of
performance and productivity, creating and enhancing value for our clients. Sriram
Subramanian has B.S. Engineering with around 15 years experience in various senior
positions. He is a proven leader and entrepreneur. In 1994, he co-founded Integra along
with Anuradha Sriram.
2.4 Vision
“By 2013 it plans to emerge as the worlds leading provider of end-to-end prepress and e-
publishing services, delivering superior returns to shareholders and profitable solutions to
customers through empowered and professionally skilled employees.”
12
2.5 Five Driving Forces of Integra
13
2.6 Clients
Integra has built its clients base in the past 16 years out of its sheer focus in customer
satisfaction. Integra which is a leading e-publishing company in India quotes that this
client list was accomplished only by maintaining schedule integrity, providing high
quality deliverables, being flexible and adaptable and forging bonds of long lasting
nature.
Its clients are,
 Elsevier
 Pearson Education
 Chicago University Press
 Oxford University Press
 Taylor & Francis
 Wiley Publications
 Cambridge University Press
 Palgrave Macmillan
 Springer
 Cengage Learning
14
2.7 STRUCTURE OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT
General Manager
Employee
Recruitment relations L&D Admin
E
HR manager
HR- ER-Manager
ER manager L&D Manager Administrator
Manager
HR
Senior Senior Senior Senior

executive executive executive executive
Junior Junior Junior Junior

v
executive executive executive executive
2.8 Services
15
Integra Software Services is one of the largest providers of prepress and electronic
publishing services to almost all leading global publishers and typesetters across North
America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Today they are equipped to deliver a whole gamut of
value-added services that include end-to-end project management, editorial services,
image management and digital archiving besides traditional multilingual typesetting and
data conversion services. Integra’s capability extends across lines of business such as
books, journals, magazines, major research works, financial content management,
translation and localization and new media publishing. As a full-service house, Integra
provides advanced e-publishing services using the latest technologies like SGML/ XML
and HTML, including SGML entry of scientific text comprising math and tables as per
the DTD supplied by the client.
They offer a full range of high-end publishing services for
 STM & HSS books and journals

 Major reference works/ encyclopedias
 College & school textbooks
 Trade books
Editorial services Production Other Services
 Project Management  Image processing  Media

 Copy-editing  Cover page  DTD development
 Proofreading  Data conversion  Application
 Indexing  Artwork Creation Development
 Language polishing  Multi-language  Digital Asset
 Accuracy checking typesetting management
 Permissions research
Project management services
16
 Managing and coordinating the entire project starting from receipt of handover
notes from the Publisher to dispatch of final files
 Sharing the planned schedule with the publisher to meet the deadlines as per the
needs
 Liaising with everyone involved in the project including Authors, Editors,
Publishers and Production personnel
 Quicker resolution of queries of the clients
 Resolving any issues if they arise
 Keeping track of manuscripts and page proofs through the entire phase of
production
 Following-up and scheduling with Integra’s Global Delivery Unit to meet the
Publishers deadline
Production
Integra's core expertise lies in the digital typesetting of books and journals. They typeset
works of a range of complexities from 1-color to 4-color, for which they have a large
pool of experienced and skilled compositors well versed in using the latest versions of
pagination software (with or without XML) like
 QuarkXpress
 LaTeX
 3B2
 InDesign
 FrameMaker
They have XML-first workflow developed in all of the above mentioned typesetting
software which helps to deliver XML files at the end of process seamlessly. They also
have the capability to integrate other deliverables within the workflow by using “Single
Source Publishing” methodology. Today, Integra produces more than 1 million typeset
pages annually.
Some of the other services include
 Image enhancement and management

 Creative art
 Design services for book and cover
 Data conversion from any format to any format
Data Conversion
17
They convert any complex matter, including equations and tables from any pagination
software or hard copy, to SGML, XML, HTML, Word, e-Books and PDF (both
searchable and non-searchable). Their workflow for Web Publishing allows them to
create print PDF and hyperlinked PDF simultaneously for print as well as for the internet;
they also convert data from SGML to XML, as well as any proprietary markup
languages. Conversions are made from,
 Hard copy to any digital format

 Any digital format to any other format
 E-books
They also specialize in conversion of books into different formats like e-pub,
Mobipocket, Kindle, Palm PDB, DML, Sony and LIT.
Digital Asset Management
Integra provides a unique value added service of archiving, re-archiving, retrieval &
reprint of their customer’s files, using its iArchive tool.
A dedicated team forms the Digital Asset Management group and extends this service to
global publishers.
Archiving /Re-archiving services
 Validation of data before archiving/re-archiving to ensure quality of archives

 Technology migration strategies
 Online and Offline archiving
Retrieval
 Retrieving and packaging assets based on end user's requirement saving time for
the customer
 Delivery through various medium
Reprint
 Performing reprint reduces coordination at customer's end

 Re-archiving done after reprint ensures latest version is available in Archives
2.9 Company Working Hours
18
General shift- 9 a.m to 6 p.m
First shift- 10 a.m to 2 p.m
Second shift- 2 p.m to 10 p.m
Third shift- 10 p.m to 6 a.m
2.10 Milestones
 15+ years experience in content processing for publishers worldwide.

 Servicing 9 out of top 10 STM and educational publishers.
 Has handled over one million typeset pages in 2008.
 Has multilingual typesetting capabilities(English, Dutch, German, Spanish &
French)
 ISO9001:2008 certified company with adoption of six sigma processes.
 1500 employees, biggest employment provider in Pondicherry, India.
 Winner of NASSCOM gender inclusivity award for 2009
 Rated no 2 in Customer Satisfaction as per Black Book of Outsourcing – 2009
 Leading Full Service provider to publishing industry world-wide with Global
delivery Models
 Onshore
 Full Service Delivery Centre for Hi-Ed in Hinsdale, Illinois
 Full Service Delivery Centre for K-12 in New York City
 Full Service House in UK
 Offshore
 E-to-E service provided out of India - Pondicherry & Chennai.
CHAPTER-3
19
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
THEORIES OF ABSENTEEISM:
Absence behaviour is discussed in terms of theories on absences such as the notion of the
informal contract, perceived inequity, and withdrawal from stressful work situations,
dynamic conflict, social exchange, withdrawal, non-attendance, organizationally excused
vs. organizationally unexcused, involuntary vs. voluntary and lastly a four-category
taxonomy.
3.1 INFORMAL CONTRACT:

Gibsson (1966) attempted to explain some of the main features of absence behaviour by
means of the notion of an informal contract. The contract is viewed as being made
between the individual and the organisation. Gibsson (1966) was especially interested in
absences that were not long enough to activate formal legitimising (certification)
procedures. He used the concept of valence, referring to a person’s positive or negative
relationships to a work situation and pointed out that if the combined valences of a work
situation are weak, it will be easier for people to legitimise their absences to themselves.
Gibsson (1966) remarks that a plausible idea relating to the size of the organisation
influences absence rates; in larger organisations, since there is greater division of labour,
there is also more concealment of the contributions of individuals, thus permitting
latitude for absence from work. He also mentions the importance of the employee’s
identification with the organisation, as in the case of longer-service employees, and
argues for the importance of the “authenticity” of the work contract (Gibsson, 1966). In
other words, the organisation should be seen to offer a fair deal to the individual, whose
feelings of obligation would thus be strengthened.
In this research Gibsson’s (1966) concept of valence, referring to an individual’s positive

and negative relationship toward a work situation has relevance, as the aim of this
20
research is to determine whether work-related attitudes (Job Involvement and
Organisational Commitment) predict employee absenteeism. It is hypothesised that
employees with low job involvement and organizational commitment (negative
relationship to the work situations) will have higher levels of absenteeism.
3.2 RESOLVING PERCIEVED INEQUITY:
Adams (1965), Hill and Trist (1953) and Patchen (1960) have made notable theoretical
contributions towards the study of absenteeism. No recent literature has been identified
which has built on this perspective. Adams (1965) suggested that absences may be a
means of resolving perceived inequity; the probability of absence behaviour will increase
with the magnitude of inequity and if other means of reducing inequity are not available.
Patchen (1960) had tested this kind of hypothesis; producing evidence of a relationship
between absences and perceived fairness of pay, that is, employees’ feelings about how
fairly they had been treated in regard to their pay levels and promotions.
3.3 WITHDRAWAL FROM THE STRESS OF WORK SITUATIONS:
In their study on absence, Hill and Trist (1953; 1962) contributed a theory of absence as
being the withdrawal from the stress of work situations. Withdrawal is the central
explanatory concept; thus, individuals experiencing conflicts of satisfaction and
obligations tend to express them through labor turnover, accidents, and unsanctioned
absences (this is, absences without formal permission). In addition to the views of Hill
and Trist (1962), Hanisch and Hulin (1991) theorized that absenteeism and other
withdrawal behaviors reflect invisible attitudes such as job dissatisfaction, low level of
21
organisational commitment, or an intention to quit. According to this view, an employee
who is absent from work is consciously or unconsciously expressing negative attachment
to the organization.
3.4 DYNAMIC CONFLICT:
The ‘withdrawal’ explanation offered by Hill and Trist (1962) had some subsequent
influence on theoretical discussions by Ås (1962) and Knox (1961). Gadourek (1965)
described the latter as ‘dynamic conflict’ theories. The conflict is located within the
individual, and whether a person stays or withdraws is the result of a complex in
incentives and stresses.
3.5 SOCIAL EXCHANGE:
Chadwick-Jones(1982) presented a case for the theory of absenteeism that is social, not
individual in emphasis. As a first step Chadwick-Jones (1982) assumed the
interdependency of members of work organisations. It seems obvious that individuals do
have some mutual obligations to peers, subordinates, and superiors (as well as other
relationships outside the work situation). In this context the rights and duties of
individuals are both subject to, and representative of, a set of rules about activities in the
work situation. What individuals do is therefore likely to be in answer to, on behalf of, in
defence of, as well as achieving a compromise with the rules of the group.
The second assumption made by Chadwick-Jones (1982), is that under the employment
contract, some form of social exchange is taking place between employers and
employees. Whatever they exchange in this situation – whether it be their time, effort, or
skill or money, security, congenial friends, or anything else- it will be only what is
possible for employees in the organisation. Exchanges may be conceived as between
individuals and work groups, or between work groups and management, but it would not
be realistic to conceive of the exchange between ‘the individual’ and ‘the organisation’
while disregarding the social conditions and rules.
22
Chadwick-Jones think of social exchange between employees and employers as
developing in, or as revealed by, a pattern of behaviour in the work situation that includes
absences with all the other factors that constitute the contract, formal and informal,
between employers and employees. Formal factors include pay, hours, disciplinary rules,
job duties, and promotion lines. Informal ones include supervisory styles, peer group
relations, and – salient to their analysis – absence from work. Chadwick-Jones (1982)
however, do point out that absences may not enter into the exchange at all, insofar as
some employees or employee groups, especially those with higher status – supervisors in
factories, managers in banks – are absent very little or hardly at all. It is quite possible,
however, that managers possess greater control over the allocation of their working time
and may take periods of ‘time out’ that are not recorded.
3.6 WITHDRAWAL:
According to Chadwick-Jones (1982), absence from work, where work is defined by the
employee’s presence at a particular location (office or workshop) for a fixed period each
day, can be interpreted as an individual act of choice between alternative activities; as
withdrawal or escape from surveillance; as individual or group resistance to an inflexible
system.
Thus, absence may also be viewed as a stratagem in inter-group relations, as a defensive
or aggressive act in inter-group conflict (Chadwick-Jones et al., 1982). For the purpose of
this research this theory has relevance, as the reasons for absence behaviour could be
related to a choice of alternative activities instead of attending work.
3.7 NON-ATTENDANCE:
Another definition of absenteeism refers to the non-attendance of employees for
scheduled work (Gibons, 1966; Johns, 1978; Jones, 1971). The definition distinguishes
absenteeism from other forms of non-attendance that are arranged in advanced (e.g.
vacations) and specifically avoids judgments of legitimacy associated with absent events
that are implied by as sick leave. This definitional emphasis seeks to focus on the key
organisational consequences of unscheduled non-attendance – instability in the supply of
23
labor to the organisation resulting in the disruption of scheduled work processes and the
loss of under utilisation of productive capacity (Allen, 1981; Jones, 1971, Nicholson,
1977). For this research this definition will be applicable, as the researcher will not take
into account absences due to vacation leave and sick leave taken over more than three
days.
3.8 ORGANISATIOALY EXCUSED VS UNEXCUSED:
In terms of distinguishing among types of absence, one simple distinction that previous
studies (Blau, 1985; Cheloha & Farr, 1980; Firzgibbons & Moch, 1980) made is between
organisationally excused versus organisationally unexcused absences. Based on these
studies, it seems that organisations operationalise excused absence to include (within
defined limits) categories such as personal sickness, jury duty, religious holidays, funeral
leave, and transportation problems. However, as Johns and Nicholson (1982) noted,
absence behaviour can have a variety of meanings for individuals. This research will
focus on the organizationally unexcused type of absenteeism.
3.9 INVOLUNTARY VS VOLUNTARY:
March and Simon (1958) on the other hand, distinguished between two basic types of
absences: involuntary (e.g. certified sickness, funeral attendance) and voluntary (e.g.
vocation, uncertified sickness). Voluntary absences are under the direct control of the
employee and are frequently utilised for personal aims. Conversely, involuntary absences
are beyond the employee’s immediate control. Hence, voluntary rather than involuntary
absences from work may reflect job dissatisfaction and lack of commitment to the
organization.
3.10 A FOUR-CATEGORY TAXONOMY:
Blau and Boal (1987) presented a four-category taxonomy describing the meanings of
absence. These categories are medical, career enhancing, normative and calculative.In the
medical category , absence is viewed as a response to various infrequent and
uncontrollable events (illness, injury, fatigue, and family demands). If such an absence
(medical) occurred, it probably would be operationalised as a sporadically occurring
24
excused absence (Blau & Boal, 1987). In the career enhancing category, absence is
depicted as a mechanism that gives the employee a further choice to pursue task- and
career-related goals.
For the normative category, absence is viewed less as a motivated behaviour and more as
a habitual response to the norms of the work group (organisation) regarding absence
(Blau & Boal, 1987). As such, this type of absence probably would operationalise as a
consistently occurring excused absence. Thus, for this group, it would be expected not
only to predict frequency, but also when absenteeism will happen.
Finally the calculative absence is viewed as a coin of exchange (Blau and Boal, 1987;
Johns & Nicholson, 1982) in either fulfilling or modifying the implicit social contract
between the employee and employer, and as a time allocation strategy for enhancing non-
work outcomes. This type of absence would be operationalised in terms of the employee
using a certain number of excused and unexcused absences permitted by the organization,
depending on how much the employee felt he or she should modify the implicit social
contract. It could be predicted that an extremely apathetic employee (low job
involvement and organizational commitment) would take full advantage by using both
kinds of absence. Thus, the absolute frequency and total number of days absent should be
greatest for workers who are the most apathetic.
3.11 ACTIONS TO REDUCE ABSENTEESISM:
The industrial society survey found that the top ban most effective ways of
managing attendance adopted by the 486 respondents were.
1. Accurate Monitoring - 57%
2. Return to work policy - 50%
3. Written absence policy - 50%
4. Training of line managers - 37%
25
5. Motivation - 37%
6. Discipline - 36%
7. Communicating absence rates - 33%
8. Senior Management commitment - 27%
9. Performance appraisal - 26%
10. Team working - 21%
Jackson (1994) in study based upon a sample of 550 employees found that the
causes of excessive absenteeism were as follows
A. Poor work habits 6%
B. Personal adjustments 9%
C. Dissatisfaction 16%
D. Irresponsibility 17%
E. Outside difficulties 17%
F. Sickness or fatigue 35%
1. Mann and Baumgartner (1952) report a study typical of the University of

Michigan Group. They compared the attitudes of high and low absentee rate
employees. The investigators found that a more favorable attitude toward
supervisor and a more favorable feeling about work associates accompanied
lower absentee rates for both blue –and white-collar workers. According to
their study absenteeism rises as supervising quality decreases
2. In a study of absenteeism of 4 major textile mills in Delhi – covering a period
of 4 years-1960 to 1963 –Made by The Shri Ram Centre for industrial
relations, the following facts were revealed.
26
 About 40% of total yearly absences occurred with the permission of
management
 About 25% were due to sickness and accidents and were granted by ESI.
 The remaining 35% were caused by workers’ unauthorized absenteeism.
27
CHAPTER-4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1 Research Design
“A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis data in a
manner to combine relevance to the researcher purpose with economy in procedure”
It constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data.
As such design includes an outline of what the researcher will do form writing the
hypothesis and its operational implications to the final analysis of data.
As such the design includes an outline of what the researcher will do from writing
the hypothesis and its operational implications to the final analysis of data. More explicit,
the decisions happen to be in respect of:
What is the study about?
Why is the study being made?
Where will the study be carried out?
What type of data is required?
Where can the data found?
What periods of time will the study include?
What will be the sample design?
How will the data be analyzed?
In what style will the report be prepared?
What techniques of data collection will be used?
The Research Design undertaken for the study is Descriptive one. A study, which
wants to portray the characteristics of a group or individuals or situation, is known as
Descriptive study. It is mostly qualitative in nature. The main objective of Descriptive
study is to acquire knowledge.
28
4.2 Source of Data
Data are the raw materials in which marketing research works. The task of data collection
begins after research problem has been identified and research design is chalked out. Data
collected are classified into primary and secondary data.
 Primary data
In this study, the primary data is collected to understand the main reasons behind the
absenteeism of the employee. This is collected using a questionnaire specifically
designed for the employees of all levels.
 Secondary data
Secondary data were collected from the company’s annual publications, memorandums
of settlements, newspapers, journals, websites, and from library books
4.3 Sampling Methodology

Research work was conducted by taking a sample of 100 employees of 1300 (excluding
apprentice trainees and contract labors). To study the problem clearly numbers of
employees from each department were selected on the basis of the size of the department
as well as nature of the work. Questionnaires were distributed to the employees
individually and lot of efforts had to be taken to collect the required data from the
selected sample of employees representing the population.
The questions in the questionnaire are framed on the basis of the factors responsible for
absenteeism
29
4.4 Description of statistical tools used
 Percentage method
Percentage Analysis
In this project Percentage method test was used. The percentage method is used to
know the accurate percentages of the data we took, it is easy to graph out through the
percentages. The following are the formula
No of Respondent
Percentage of Respondent = x 100
Total no. of Respondents
Weighted average method:
 Weighted average can be defined as an average whose component items are

multiplied by certain values (weights) and the aggregate of the products are
divided by the total of weights.
 One of the limitations of simple arithmetic mean is that it gives equal importance
to all the items of the distribution.
 In certain cases relative importance of all the items in the distribution is not the
same. Where the importance of the items varies.
 It is essential to allocate weight applied but may vary in different cases. Thus
weight age is a number standing for the relative importance of the items.
30
CHAPTER-5
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Analysis using simple random sampling
Demographic details:
AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS

Age No of Respondents Percentage
20-30 79 79
31-40 19 19
41-50 2 2
Total 100 100
Chart 5.1
20-30 31-40 41-50
INFERENCE
It is inferred that 79% of the employees who participated are in the age group of 20-
30, 18% come under the category of 30-40 and only 2% belongs to the category of
40-50.
SEX OF THE RESPONDENTS
31
Sex No of respondents Percentage
Male 38 38
Female 62 62
Total 100 100
Chart 5.2
SEX OF THE RESPONDENTS
male
38%
female
62%
INFERENCE
It has been inferred that 62% of the employees who participated in the survey are
female and the remaining 38% come under male category
32
MARITAL STATUS OF THE RESPONDENTS
Marital status No of respondents Percentage

Single 64 64
Married 33 33
Divorced 0 0
Widow(er) 3 3
Total 100 100
Chart 5.3
MARITAL STATUS OF THE RESPONDENTS
single married Widow
INFERENCE
It has been inferred that 64% of the employees who participated in the survey are
single and 33% of the respondents are married. Rest of them are categorized under
the category of widows.
33
General causes for employee absenteeism:
Table 5.1
No Causes Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

agree disagree
1 Other source of income 15 14 44 10 16
2 Higher studies 40 39 17 2 -
3 Time for personal 41 20 22 14 -

activities
4 Health problems - 6 48 26 16
5 Employee’s commitment 12 19 35 23 6
6 Transportation problems 4 7 31 34 18
7 Family responsibilities 8 1 11 41 32
8 Lack of interest 31 23 11 15 12
34
Chart 5.4
Other source of income
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Strongly agree Agree Nuetral Disagree Strongly disagree
INFERENCE
It has been inferred that 15% and 16% of the employees absent themselves because
of other businesses, since their income is not enough for their family expenses.
Whereas among the remaining some are neutral and some strongly disagree to this
statement. This clearly shows that very minimum number of people are engaged in
some other business.
35
Chart 5.5
Higher studies
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
Strrongly agree Agree Nuetral Disagree Strongly disagree
INFERENCE
40% of the respondents strongly agree that they had to concentrate in their higher
studies which make them to take leave, since most of the employees working in the
organisation are freshers, coming under the age group of 20-30 and they just work
here to gain some experience.
36
Chart 5.6
Time for personal activities
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
Strongly Agree Agree Nuetral Disagree Strongly disagree
INFERENCE
41% of the respondents strongly agree that they don’t get time for their personal
activities because of their tight schedule and heavy work which becomes a major
factor to make them absent.
37
Chart 5.7
Health problems leading to absenteeism
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
INFERENCE
Most of the employees disagree to the fact that health problems make them absent
from their work and only 6% of them agree that their health gets affected often.
38
Chart 5.8
Employee’s commitment towards the work
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
INFERENCE
This pie chart shows that 23% and 6% percent of the employees disagree and strongly
disagree to the fact that their absence doesn’t affect the company’s output. Anyway
this ratio is less because only employees at high level are really feeling committed
towards their work.
39
Chart 5.9
Transportation problem
INFERENCE
Only 4% and
7% of the
employees
strongly agree
and agree to
this statement
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree whereas the
remaining are
comfortable reaching their workplace since most of the employees recruited were
residing close to their workplace and most of them were found to have two wheelers
and four wheelers.
Chart 5.10
Work Vs Family
responsibilities
40

INFERENCE
41% and 32% of the employees disagree and strongly disagree that their worklife is
affected by their family responsibilities this shows that they were able to able their
work and family because the company doesn’t give any home assignments and
projects to the employees.
Chart 5.11
Lack of interest
41
INFERENCE
31% and 23% of the employees strongly agree and agree to the statement that they
are not into the right job since most of them were engineering and science graduates
who were doing the job of diploma holders and typewriters.
Factors responsible for employee’s absenteeism at the workplace:
Table 5.2
No Causes Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

agree disagree
1 Employee’s satisfaction 20 26 28 11 14
2 Stress level of the 58 22 10 5 3

employees
3 Pay scale 50 27 15 2 3
4 Loneliness at the 8 3 40 30 15
workplace
5 Routine work causes 12 41 11 21 10
boredom
6 Working conditions - - 34 4 56
7 Welfare measures 2 - 29 6 56
8 Shift basis- Drawback 40 20 12 8 12
9 Lack of motivation 28 11 10 32 10
10 Colleagues co- 11 5 - 60 14
operation
42
Chart 5.12
Employee’s Satisfaction towards the job
30
25
20
15
10
0
43
INFERENCE
It has been inferred that 20% and 26% 0f the respondents were dissatisfied with
their job because most of them felt that they didn’t fit in with the task allotted to
them and some felt that they were dominated by their higher officials and didn’t get
any freedom to share their views.
44
Chart 5.13
Stress level of the employees
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly Agree Agree Nuetral Disagree Strongly disagree
INFERENCE
Nearly 58% and 22% of the respondents have agreed that their work is heavy and
tiresome which causes stress and due to stress they absent themselves to relax. This
was found to be the majo reason for most of the employees to be absent.
45
Chart 5.14
Salary and allowances
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
INFERENCE
50% and 27% of the employees feel that the salary given to them is not satisfactory
since their work is stressful and they don’t get any performance pay even if they
work for overtime. They feel that the work assessed to them is greater and their pay
scale is lesser.
46
Chart 5.15
Loneliness at the workplace
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
INFERENCE
Only 8% and 3% of the respondents feel lonely at their workplace. This shows that
this is a very minor reason for absenteeism in the company. Because, most of the
employees were from the same locality and were found to have been college mates
or schoolmates.
Chart 5.16
47
Boredom due to routine work
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
INFERENCE
41% agree and 12% strongly agree that the same routine work allotted to them
causes boredom towards their work which makes them to absent. This will also lead
to lack of interest towards the work.
Chart 5.17
48
Satisfaction with the existing working condition
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
INFERENCE
None of the respondents are dissatisfied with their existing working conditions. This
shows that they are satisfied with the infrastructure and atmosphere in which they
work.
Chart 5.18
49
Satisfaction with the welfare measures
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
INFERENCE
It has been found that only 2% of the employees are dissatisfied with the welfare
measures adopted by the company and the rest of them strongly disagree to this
statement.
Chart 5.19
50
Shift basis - Drawback
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
Strongly agree Agree Nuetral Disagree Strongly
disagree
INFERENCE
20% and 40% of the respondents agree and strongly agree to that shift basis is a
strong reason for their absence. This is because 62% of the respondents who
participated in the survey were female, who feel that they are not comfortable with
the night shifts.
Chart 5.20
51
Lack of motivation
INFERENCE
Only 11% and 28% of the respondents agree and strongly agree that they don’t get
proper motivation from their superiors, whereas 32% of the employees disagree to
this statement.
Chart 5.21
52
Colleagues Co-operation
INFERENCE
Only 11% of the respondents strongly agree that their colleagues are not co-
operative, whereas 60% of the respondents disagree to this fact, so it is evident that
this factor doesn’t play a major role in absenteeism.
Ranking the general causes using weighted average method:
53
Table 5.3
No Causes Total score Average Rank

1 Other source of income 299 2.99 4
2 Higher studies 411 4.11 1
3 Time for personal activities 379 3.79 2
4 Health problems 236 2.36 6
5 Employee’s commitment 293 2.93 5
6 Transportation problems 227 2.27 7
7 Family responsibilities 191 1.91 8
8 Lack of interest 322 3.22 3
INFERENCE:
From the above table we can infer that the reason of higher studies was ranked first
among the other causes, most of the employees also feel that they don’t get ample
time for their personal activities so it has been ranked second. Lack of interest
towards the job has been ranked third, since most of them expect the right kind of
job to be allotted to them.
Ranking the workplace factors using weighted average method:
54
Table 5.4
No Causes Total score Average Rank

1 Employee’s satisfaction 324 3.24 4
2 Stress level of the employees 421 4.21 1
3 Pay scale 410 4.10 2
4 Loneliness at the workplace 247 2.47 7
5 Routine work causes boredom 309 3.09 5
6 Working conditions 166 1.66 9
7 Welfare measures 165 1.65 10
8 Shift basis- Drawback 344 3.44 3
9 Lack of motivation 288 2.88 6
10 Colleagues co-operation 209 2.09 8
INFERENCE
The first main workplace factor was found to be the stress level of the employees. It
was also found that most of the employees were not satisfied with their pay scale.
Therefore it has been ranked second. Shift basis was also found be the third main
reason for the employee’s absenteeism in this company.
CHAPTER-6
55
6.1 FINDINGS
General factors responsible for absenteeism:
 Since most of the employees are working in a temporary basis and pursuing their
studies, they tend to be absent to a greater extent.
 Lack of time for recreation and personal needs due to work pressure encourage
them to take leave.
 Lack of interest towards the job due to over qualification and mismatch of the job
makes them to be absent.
Worklife factors responsible for absenteeism:
 Employees experience a higher level of stress since their work is heavy and
tiresome, which makes them to be absent.
 Most of them feel that they are underpaid because they feel that for the same
qualification other companies give them better compensation.
 The female employees don’t feel comfortable with all the shifts, mainly the night
shifts.
56
6.2 SUGGESTIONS:
 The company itself should provide support and back-up to its employees by having
tie-up with educational organisations and conducting training programme and
seminars once in a while.
 The company can help the employees have get together or peer groups at the end of
every month
 The people who are overqualified and not suitable for that particular job should not
be recruited.
 The company should allot some time for entertainment in addition to the lunch
break and it was found that most of the employees needed a break at least for
alternate Saturdays.
 The company can conduct performance appraisal once in 2 months. It can give
overtime incentive for people who work for the organisation in Saturdays. It should
also revise and increase the pay scale based on the profits of the company.
57
CHAPTER-7
7.1 CONCLUSION
Integra software services should be very cautious while recruiting the employees.
The company should not solely concentrate in getting the work done by the employees; it
should also give its employees some time for fun and entertainment. Since this is a fastly
developing company here in Pondicherry, it has to look after that its employees are
satisfied with salary and compensation given to them. The company can try adopting the
suggestions given above to reduce absenteeism in the company. Since most if the
employees working here are coming under the age group of 20-30, they will like to
socialize in their weekends with their friends or family, so the company can free them in
their Saturdays.
58
7.2 BIBILIOGRAPHY
 Aswathappa, “Human Resource and Personnel Management”, Tata MC

GRAW- Hill Publishing Company limited.
 Paneerselvam.R., “Research Methodology” Methods and Techniques, Second
Edition.
 Likert Rensis, “The Human Organisation” published by Mc Graw Hill Book
Company Limited.
 Flippo Edwin B “Personnel Management” published by Mc Graw Hill Book
Company Limited.
 Tripathi P C “Human Resource Development” published by Sultan Chand
&Sons, Educational Publishers.
 Tapomoy Deb “Strategic Approaches to Human Resource Management”
published by Atlantic publisher.
 Dwivedi R.S., Human relations and organizational behavior, 5 th edition,
publisher by Beri fore Macmillan India ltd., New Delhi.
 Biswajeet pattanayak, Human resources management, second edition, published
by prentice Hall of India Private Ltd., New Delhi.
 Lewis R. Gomez-Mejia, David B. Balkin, Robert L. Cardy, Managing human
resources,Third edition, published by rajiv Beri fore Macmillan India ltd., New
Delhi.
 Gupta, S.P., Statistical Methods, Sultan Chand & Sons Publishers, New Delhi,
Thirty Fourth Edition, 2005.
59
Websites:
http://www.citehr.com/register.php?do=signup
http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-
13788.html
http://www.sciencedirect.com/
http://www.absenteeism.com/
http://www.wikipedia.com/
http://www.integra-india.com/
http://www.scribd.com/
http://www.oppapers.com/
60
ANEXXURE
61
QUESTIONNAIRE:
A Study on Employee Absenteeism with reference to Integra Software Services, Pondicherry
Name: ……………………………
Age
a.) 20-30 b.) 31-40 c.) 41-50
Sex
a.) Male b.) Female
Marital Status
a.) Single b.) Married c.) Divorced d.) Widow(er)
General factors:
1. I have some other source of income which prompts me to take leave
a.)Strongly agree b.)Agree c.) Nuetral d.) Disagree e.) Strongly disagree
2. I concentrate more on my higher studies when compared to my work
a.) Strongly agree b.)Agree c.) Nuetral d.) Disagree e.) Strongly disagree
3. I am not into the job assigned to me and I am seeking for the appropriate job
4. I don’t get enough time to spend with my family
a.) Strongly agree b.) Agree c.) Neutral d.) Disagree e.) Strongly disagree
5. I feel that sickness makes me absent from work often
6. I feel that my worklife is affected by the family responsibilities
62
7. I feel that my absence doesn’t affect the company’s output
8. I do absent myself often because of transportation problems
Worklife factors:
1. I am not satisfied with my works
a.) Strongly agree b.)Agree c.) Nuetral d.)Disagree e) Strongly disagree
2. Stress is a part of my work life
a.) Strongly agree b.) Agree c.) Nuetral d.) Disagree e.) Strongly disagree
3. I am not satisfied with the salary and allowances
a.) Strongly agree b.) Agree c.) Nuetral d.) Disagree e.) Strongly disagree
4. I feel lonely while working with others (in your workplace)
5. I feel bored with the same routine work
a.) Strongly agree b.)Agree c.) Nuetral d.)Disagree e.)Strongly disagree
6. I don’t feel satisfied with the existing working condition
a.) Strongly agree b.) Agree c.)Neutral d.) Disagree e.) Strongly disagree
7. I am not satisfied with the welfare measures adopted by the company
a.) Strongly agree b.) Agree c.)Neutral d.) Disagree e.) Strongly disagree
8. Shift basis is a stumbling block for my regularity
a.) Strongly agree b.) Agree c.) Neutral d) Disagree e.) Strongly disagree
63
9. I don’t get proper motivation from my superiors
10. I am not getting sufficient co-operation from my colleagues
Any other reasons, for your absence, please specify
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………
Any suggestions to reduce absenteeism in your company
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………….
64
65
66
67

Employee Absenteeism

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Employee Absenteeism

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CHAPTER-1

Man days lost (both authorized and unauthorized)

Persons not working due to

Absenteeism is of two types –

unacceptable level, action by management is necessary. Absence from work can be

employee is absent from work may include:

(ii) Inability to provide services, or achieve section and departmental objectives;

absence is perceived as unwarranted.

Effects of absenteeism on Industry

Affects production targets

Increases the work load of inexperienced & less experienced

Leads to rejection of finished products

Increases the cost of production

Lowers the Profit margin

Affects Industrial growth

Effects of absenteeism on the employees

Reduces his earnings

Adds his indebtedness

Decreases the Purchasing power

Leads to family problems

Increases mental stress

Leads to inefficiency in his job

PECULIAR FEATURES OF ABSENTEEISM:

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Integra is a company with 1,500 employees and it is a developing company getting a

a hindrance for the employee to be punctual towards his job.

1.3 NEED FOR STUDY

• To study the general causes for employee absenteeism

• To analyse the workplace factors which leads to employee absenteeism in the

 The information provided by them may be subjected to personal bias.

PROFILE OF THE COMPANY

Integra has emerged from a team of 5 in 1994 in over 1000 professionals

Its clients are,

 Chicago University Press

 Oxford University Press

 Taylor & Francis

 Cambridge University Press

Senior Senior Senior Senior

Junior Junior Junior Junior

 STM & HSS books and journals

Editorial services Production Other Services

 Project Management  Image processing  Media

Project management services

Some of the other services include

 Image enhancement and management

 Hard copy to any digital format

Digital Asset Management

Archiving /Re-archiving services

 Validation of data before archiving/re-archiving to ensure quality of archives

 Performing reprint reduces coordination at customer's end

2.9 Company Working Hours

First shift- 10 a.m to 2 p.m

Second shift- 2 p.m to 10 p.m

Third shift- 10 p.m to 6 a.m

 15+ years experience in content processing for publishers worldwide.

3.1 INFORMAL CONTRACT:

In this research Gibsson’s (1966) concept of valence, referring to an individual’s positive

1. Mann and Baumgartner (1952) report a study typical of the University of

4.1 Research Design

4.3 Sampling Methodology

Weighted average method:

 Weighted average can be defined as an average whose component items are

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION