Why Are Employees Constantly Calling in Sick?

Healthy Employees, Thriving Company: Tackling Rising Sick Days with Practical Solutions

The health of a company’s employees is a significant factor in assessing its strengths and weaknesses. Only staff in the proper physical and mental state will dedicate themselves to the organisation’s growth.

However, if you notice a rise in the number of employees who call in sick regularly, it might indicate the current state of your organization.

In simple words, a healthy employee translates to a healthy company. Otherwise, as explained in this article, you may need answers to why your employees constantly call in sick. This article will also discuss practical steps to address the decline in your organization’s health state.

Why Does an Employee Call Out Sick a Lot?

Individuals call out sick frequently for different reasons. However, below are six common reasons.

1. Stress and Burnout

Everybody has a limit to the amount of energy they can use. There is a reason you murmur words of gratitude when you find yourself in your bed at night, ready to charge up for the next day. While this may seem normal, some staff are so bent on delivering their best to the company that they forget to take breaks.

In the end, overusing their energy results in burnout. Their well-being begins to deteriorate, and suddenly, they do not have any atom of strength left to carry out essential duties. Day after day, they continue to call in sick because of their current state of exhaustion.

2. Poor Workplace Culture

As an employer, have you ever thought of running away from a situation mainly because the company is not running according to plan? It is a similar thought that goes on in the mind of an employee who doesn’t understand the culture of the workplace. An employer can decide to be absent because of the uncomfortable environment of the workplace. Such employees will not consider the effect of leaving the workplace regularly since they do not own the company.

Also, a toxic work environment where employees are insulted verbally and physically will keep people away. Instead of coming to work under such harsh conditions, they will call in sick as long as possible.

3. Personal Health and Wellness Concerns

Except your company uses general health insurance for the staff, employees are solely in charge of their health. Good health insurance companies like Premier PMI offer plans that can cater to your staff’s mental and physical well-being. However, if you do not have health insurance, an employee with a health concern will prioritize their health first before considering what their absence will cost the company.

4. Company Policies and Systems

If your company lacks policies and systems that show concern for the health of your employees, the staff will be forced to create one for themselves. As a company, you should offer paid-off rest days for staff to relax and get back on their feet. Sick days should also have a policy guiding how many you take. However, in the fairness of these policies, the staff and people in power must be on the same page as the policies before implementation begins.

5. Unfair Workload Distribution

Another reason your staff constantly calls in sick is the unfair workload distribution. You can easily observe this by taking notes of the staff member who recently called in regularly ill.

Growth is only possible in an organisation if there is a division of labour and everybody carries out their duties. Some individuals are expected to be more skilled than others; however, this is not a reason to share the workload unfairly. Equally distributing the work among staff members due to their capacity and experience will help reduce the burden only a few share.

6. Seasonal or Pandemic Factors

The seasonal or pandemic factors are factors that you can’t control as an employer. A state of lockdown can be called, or the Christmas Season may come with the flu due to the cold. In this situation, you should expect more members to call in sick. To make up for the staff who could not make it to the workplace due to their health, you can outsource some of the tasks to freelancers in the industry or set systems to tackle the situation when you have a whole staff.

How to Address the Problem of an Employee Sick All the Time?

Your staff calling in sick all the time can be a result of different issues. However, there are friendly and fun ways to tackle the issues. Some of them include

Encourage Relaxation

Everybody needs to rest and relax to get their energy pumped. You can organize an annual trip or fun activity that will interest your company’s staff. You can rent luxurious rides to take the Crew during such trips.

Health Screening Exercise

Before employing a staff, request a health screening exercise. This screening result will allow you to assess your staff’s health before using them. Irrespective of their health history, you must also ensure that your company has medical insurance for employees. This will help manage any health issues during their stay at your company.

Build a Supportive Workplace

Ensure every employee has trustworthy people within the organization. You cannot directly influence how they relate to each other, but as an employer, your relationship can be imbibed by other employees.

Review Workplace Policies

Ensure you review the workplace policies once in a while. However, the revision should benefit both the employees and the organisation.