IJEMR October 2016 - Vol 6 Issue 10 - Online - ISSN 22492585 Print - ISSN 2249-8672

Employee Absenteeism of Manufacturing Sector in Krishnagiri District, Tamil Nadu - An

Empirical Study
*Dr B N Sivakumar
**Dr V Navaneethakumar
***Dr K R Kumar

*Professor in MBA, Adhiyamaan College of Engineering, (Autonomous), Hosur,

Tamil Nadu.

**Professor and Head in MBA, Adhiyamaan College of Engineering, (Autonomous), Hosur,

Tamil Nadu.
***Associate Professor in MBA, Adhiyamaan College of Engineering, (Autonomous), Hosur,
Tamil Nadu
Abstract: Absenteeism has been recognized as a vital issue, which affects the production of
the organization and the community as a whole. The main problem, which the manufacturing
sectors face today, is the absenteeism of workmen. The sample size is limited to 150 by
randomly selecting the workers from different departments. Both primary and secondary data
were collected by interview method and by referring the company manual and the website of
the companies. From the findings it is clear that the workers level of satisfaction towards the
company is low. Absenteeism can be further reduced by considering the reasons of
absenteeism and by implementing the various suggestions and the strong and systematic
policy of the company can reduce the absenteeism.
Keywords: Absenteeism, Burnout, Commitment, Health care, Employees behaviour, Stress
Introduction
Absenteeism has been recognized as a vital issue affecting discipline and production in the
organized industry today. It is a major socio-psychological problem in industries. Absenteeism
in Indian industry is not a new phenomenon. The Royal Commission of Employee reported,
High absenteeism prevails among industrial employees mainly due to their rural orientation.
Absenteeism is a serious problem for a management because it seriously involves heavy
expenditure and loss of production. The main objective of organization is to maximize profit by
maximum utilization of men, materials and money. When there is a problem of absenteeism
the three above said sources are not fairly utilized. Absenteeism is one of the common factors,
which affects both the production, and the growth of the organization. No company can afford
to allow high incidence of absenteeism to eat up its hard earned corporate profits. In general
the absent rate indicates the relative cost to a given company because productions workers
simply cannot produce as much annually when absent rates are high as they can when
absent rates are low. When the employees are away from the work, it is difficult for the
employers to maintain production schedule. Reduction of absenteeism is beneficial not only to
the industry but also to the nation as a whole. The treatment of dismissal by the employer
would never ultimately help to reduce absenteeism. Employee force is an integral and
important component of the wealth of nations, as other factors like land, capital, and
machine. Measured by what employee contributes to output, productive capacity of human
beings is now vastly larger than all other forms of wealth taken together which has chiefly
contributed to economic growth of countries. An employee is under an obligation not to absent
himself from work without good cause during the time at which he is required to be at work
spot by the terms of his contract of service. Absence creates many administrative problems,
resulting in dislocation of work. The contribution of employee towards production is possible
only when the individual comes to the work spot and delivers his employee to somebody.
Employee is inseparable from the employee himself he sells his employee in person. An
employer works to earn, to do so it is imperative on his part to be present on the work spot
1
www.aeph.in

IJEMR October 2016 - Vol 6 Issue 10 - Online - ISSN 22492585 Print - ISSN 2249-8672
every day. When the workers are absent from the work, it leads to loss in the man-hours,
which has direct influence on the production and productivity. This underlines the importance
of the need for workers to be present. Absenteeism refers to the absence of an employee from
work that is scheduled to be at work. It refers to the loss of man hours on account of the
absence of a percentage of workers scheduled to be at work.
Reviews
Dirk et al., (2002) he found that, through structural equation modelling showed that this was
indeed the case for the relation between LMX (leader member exchange) behaviour and
subordinate absenteeism. Supervisory conflict management behaviour was not directly related
to subordinates feelings of reciprocity, but only indirectly through LMXbehaviour. Finally,
and quite surprisingly, subordinates feelings of reciprocity turned out to be positively related
to their absence frequency. Praveen et al., (2005) in this study examined the effect of national
culture on absenteeism using a sample of 17,842 respondents from 24 countries. Based on
Hofstede's cultural dimensions, they postulated that uncertainty avoidance, power distance,
individualism, and masculinity will be negatively related to absenteeism. Similarly, based on
the GLOBE cultural dimensions, however, they hypothesized that ingroup collectivism and
gender egalitarianism will have negative relationships with absenteeism. Consistent findings
were obtained for the common elements of both the Hofstede and GLOBE cultural dimensions,
demonstrating convergence of our findings.
James et al., (2008) indicated that stressful life events were significantly associated with both
presenteeism and absenteeism, to the same degree. These results extend previous research in
suggesting that employees are substituting presenteeism for absenteeism. However, different
health risks (chronic conditions vs needing counselling support) were more likely to predict
absenteeism than presenteeism. By supporting a substitution hypothesis, the present study
suggests that both presenteeism and absenteeism are important measures of employee health
and organizational productivity.
Anne et al., (2009) this paper explores how the toll of cost cutting and implementation of
tighter welfare eligibility rules elicited collective resistance through leave taking and highlights
how absenteeism can be more than an individual response of passive disengagement. Jeff et
al., (2012) in this paper helps to extend the current work on leadership; it examines the
passive avoidant style, which remains understudied to date; and it enriches our
understanding of the relationship between leadership style and absenteeism as an outcome
variable by moving beyond a one-dimensional conceptualization of absenteeism. Finally, it
serves as a basis for future research by providing evidence for a somewhat counterintuitive
finding that, under passive avoidant leaders, workers appear to come to work when sick, but
stay away from work when well.
Denis et al., (2013) it was found that distributive injustice is indirectly linked to shortterm
absences through exhaustion. By contrast, the relationship between distributive injustice and
longterm absence can be explained by two mediating variables, namely, exhaustion and
psychosomatic complaints. In spite of the nonlongitudinal nature of this study, the results
suggest that the stress model and the medical model best explain the relationship between
organisational injustice and absenteeism, while the withdrawal model via organisational
commitment is not associated in this study with absenteeism. For the healthcare sector, the
need to reduce absenteeism is particularly urgent because of budget restrictions and the
shortage of labour around the world. This is one of the first studies to provide a complete
model that analyses the stress process in terms of how organisational justice affects short
and longterm absences, in a bid to understand the specific process and factors that lead to
shorter and longer episodes of absence.
Dwayne (2014) the study utilized a cross-sectional self-report survey research design which
does not permit causal inferences to be made. Longitudinal research is needed to further
2
www.aeph.in

IJEMR October 2016 - Vol 6 Issue 10 - Online - ISSN 22492585 Print - ISSN 2249-8672
investigate these relationships reported here. Managers should seek to minimize workplace
bullying as well as excessive job demands to help alleviate the risk of employees developing
negative health outcomes. The study investigated how different categories of stressors interact
with each other to predict various health outcomes or forms of job strains. Amanda et al.,
(2016) findings indicate that there was a strong influence of social rewards such as social
support and recognition in the workplace on officer absenteeism rates. Low workload was
associated with a higher frequency of absenteeism suggesting a potential under loading effect.
There were a number of significant interactions providing support for the effort-reward
imbalance mechanism and the separation of the reward construct. Security rewards were
particularly influential and significantly moderated the relationship between effort and
absenteeism. Differential effects of occupational rewards were identified in the study,
indicating that there are significant opportunities for expansion of the effort-reward imbalance
model along with opportunities for HRM practitioners in terms of employee recognition and
remuneration programmes. This paper considers and expanded model of worker strain and
contributes a longitudinal assessment of the association between perceived effort and reward
systems and worker absenteeism.
Pranab and Pallavi (2016) low performers are worse affected by absenteeism as compared to
the high performers. Inclusion of some other factors, such as study habits, additional hours
spent on quantitative modules, students ethnicity background, particularly in the context of
United Arab Emirates, could have emboldened the robustness of the study. Non-availability or
paucity of this information, to some degree, has limited the conclusions of this study.
Proponents of mandatory attendance argue that there is a positive correlation between
attendance and performance.
Methodology
Absenteeism is a common factor prevailing in the Indian industries. The main objective of
organization is to maximize profit by employing minimum number of men, material and
money. When there is a problem of absenteeism the above said factors are not fairly utilized.
So the need for reducing absenteeism is not only the need for the company but also the need
of the nation. The study conducted to find the reasons for the absenteeism, the factors leading
to absenteeism, to find whether the workers are motivated after the introduction of the various
schemes to reduce absenteeism etc. The study is also conducted to analyze the relationship of
various factors with absenteeism.
Absenteeism is not a new problem in the Indian industries. It is a universal fact. Absenteeism
is one of the common factors, which affect both the production, and the growth of the
organization. So controlling and preventing absenteeism become the aim of the whole nation.
Chronic absentees are persons who habitually stay away from their work. Unauthorized
absence will increase the workload of other workers. Moreover the production will decrease
and the company will be in a position to close the business. This is not only the problem of the
company alone it will affect the employer, the employee and the community as a whole.
The study also includes the attitude of the workers towards the company who belongs to
chronic absentees. To study the various reasons for absenteeism in the manufacturing sector,
to find out whether the workers are motivated by the introduction of new schemes by the
company and to find out the measures to control absenteeism. To find the relationship
between absenteeism and the various factors leading to absenteeism. The study was
conducted within a limited time period. The sample size is limited to 150 from the population
of 300. Only the absentees who absented more than 20 days in the year 2015 and 2016 are
taken as the population.

3
www.aeph.in

IJEMR October 2016 - Vol 6 Issue 10 - Online - ISSN 22492585 Print - ISSN 2249-8672
Descriptive research design has been followed to conduct the research study. The success of
any formal research depends on its sound research design. As the aim of this research is to
identify the factors leading to absenteeism and the relationship between various factors and
absenteeism this project is purely descriptive in nature. Stratified random sampling is used
for the study. Under stratified sampling the population is divided into several sub populations
that are individually more homogenous than the total population. The workers who have been
absent for more than 20 days in the year 2014 and 2015 are selected for the study. So the
population for this particular research is 300. 50% of the population (150) is selected for the
study as the sample size.
Results and Discussions
In the HR department, from a total of 25 absentees, 12 of the absentees are from the age
group above 50. In the Finance department, from a total of 24 absentees, 8 of the absentees
are from the age group 31 40. From a total of 10 absentees in the marketing department, 7
of the absentees are from the age group above 50. In the production department from a total
of 15 absentees, 6 are from the age group 31 40. In R & D department, 11 of the absentees
are from the age group 31 40 from the total of 14. The other departments include the total of
62 absentees, 25 are coming under the age group above 50 in the others category. Finally
from the 150 absentees 140 belongs to the married category.
Among the absentees who are having more than 20 years experience 24 persons have some
other source of income. 4 of the absentees who belong to 16 20 years experience have some
other source of income. Among the absentees who are having 11 15 years experience, 5
persons have some other source of income. 8 absentees who are having 6 10 years
experience have some other source of income. Only 1 person who is having less than 5 years
experience have some other source of income. From the table it is clear that there is a direct
relationship between age and the number of persons who is having other source of income. As
the age increases, the number of persons who is having other source of income also increases.
Null Hypothesis (Ho)
absenteeism.

: There is no significant relationship between age and reasons for

Since the calculated value is greater than the critical value null hypothesis is rejected and
alternative hypothesis is accepted. So there is significant relationship between age and
reasons for absenteeism.
Null Hypothesis (Ho)
of job.

: There is no significant relationship between distance and nature

Since the calculated value is lower than the critical value null hypothesis is accepted and
alternative hypothesis is rejected. So there is no significant relationship between distance and
nature of job.

4
www.aeph.in

IJEMR October 2016 - Vol 6 Issue 10 - Online - ISSN 22492585 Print - ISSN 2249-8672
Table 1: One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test

Normal
Parametersa,b

Acute
medical
conditions.

Musculoskeletal
injuries.

Stress

Mental
ill
health.

Back
pain.

Mean

4.0662

3.8603

3.7647

3.9118

3.4191

SD

.71183

.80896

1.03448

.82973

1.15184

.331

.304

.296

.329

.237

Absolute
Most Extreme
Positive
Differences
Negative

.302

.240

.182

.252

.134

-.331

-.304

-.296

-.329

-.237

Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z

3.856

3.543

3.450

3.838

2.765

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

.000

a. Test distribution is Normal.

b. Calculated from data.

5
www.aeph.in

IJEMR October 2016 - Vol 6 Issue 10 - Online - ISSN 22492585 Print - ISSN 2249-8672

The main reasons behind absenteeism are the dissatisfaction with job and the workload of the
workers. Apart from that health problems of the aged workers also lead to high rate of
absenteeism. The main factors, which lead to absenteeism of the workers, include the low rate
of satisfaction towards motivation, and low rate of satisfaction towards wages. Even though
the absentees are not fully motivated, a small part of the work force is motivated for a better
work after the introduction of the schemes. There is a significant relationship with the factors
leading to absenteeism and absenteeism in most of the cases. Absenteeism is more in the
departments like tyre curing, band building, tyre building etc., which involves difficult task.
Workload and working condition may be the reason for absenteeism in these departments.
Percentage analysis according to age gave the result that 31 40 aged workers are absenting
more. This may be due to family responsibility and other family problems. It is clear that a
major part of the absentees are married. This is due to various personal problems, family
problems, child care, other household responsibilities etc. A large part of the absentees are
coming from the nearby localities that are from less than 3 kms. So the absenteeism is not
due to distance. This shows their low morale towards the company. The most shocking fact is
that the major groups of absentees are experienced persons. This is because of the high rate of
job security in the company and may be because of health problems. Other source of income
is not a reason for absenteeism. Most of the absentees depend only on the company for their
living. Awareness about leave rules and leave facilities is not the reason for absenteeism. Most
of the absentees are very much aware about the leave rules and leave facilities. The age group
below 40 years is absenting because of workload and the age group above 40 years are
absenting because of their high dissatisfaction in the job. More than half percentage of the
absentees is very much dissatisfied with their wages. Most of the workers feel that the
company is not giving enough rewards for their good performance. This will generate a
psychologically negative attitude from the workers towards the company. Unawareness of the
schemes introduced by the company can also be said as a reason for absenting. Most of the
workers are unaware of the schemes. The workers are not satisfied with the motivation given
by the company. The company can introduce more useful schemes for reducing absenteeism.
Another main factor is the lack of good relationship with the superiors. Majority of the workers
have some difference of opinion with the superiors. Relationship with the
co
workers is not a reason for absenteeism. A major portion is very much satisfied with the co
worker relationship. The most appropriate suggestion given by the workers to reduce
absenteeism is to re arrange the existing shift schedule.
6
www.aeph.in

IJEMR October 2016 - Vol 6 Issue 10 - Online - ISSN 22492585 Print - ISSN 2249-8672
Suggestions
One main suggestion to reduce absenteeism is allowing a normal rate of shift exchange
between the different shift workers. This will allow the worker to do overtime and the other
workers absence will not affect the organization. Get-together of the workers in different shifts
should be conducted once in two months for at least 2 hours. This will help to increase the
relationship and mutual understanding among the different shift workers. The rest interval or
the lunch break is only a pause to the workers for a highly motivated work for the next
session. So after the lunch the worker should feel fresh. Some entertainment like television,
music etc can relieve the strain of the workers. Moreover at least some workers will try to keep
up the timings indirectly for the lunch break and to come back for work. Increased rate of job
security is one reason for absenteeism. So the management should make an agreement with
the union that a worker who absents without any truthful reason for more than the limited
days should be suspended from the company. That workers photograph and the warning
letter given to him should be displayed on the notice board. This will create a fear of the loss of
job in the minds of the workers. An officer should be appointed to enquire about the reasons
for the absenteeism of the workers and should provide counselling programmes for the
mentally depressed persons to reduce their personal problems. Providing accommodation to
the workers is another way to reduce absenteeism. If charging very cheap rental, this can
bring profit to the company in the long run. Moreover the other advantages include:
1. Absenteeism due to distance can be reduced.
2. Motivated workforce.
3. Superiors can identify the reason for absenteeism very easily.
4. Will improve the relationship between the workers.
Alcoholic relief programmes should be conducted to the workers who absents due to
alcoholism. Incentives to the workers can be given by the middle of every month. This will help
to reduce the difficulty of the worker to face his colleagues without money since because friend
circle is very important for each and every person. Moreover the other workers will be
motivated to do more work and earn more money. Once they start saving, the workers will not
feel that they are not getting enough wages. Since the supervisor is the immediate leader to
the workers keen interest should be taken in appointing superiors. Superiors should deal with
the workers in a professional manner to influence the workers. Apart from all these improving
the working condition, health, safety and welfare measures are also important. Improving the
superior - worker relationship is another important factor. Some group games and other
entertaining programmes can be conducted for the workers to make the job interesting.
Counselling can be given to the workers, who have some personal problems.
Conclusion
Since manpower is most important, the problem of absenteeism affects the organization in
many ways. The main reason that is the basis for absenteeism is the workers morale towards
the organization. The company should take necessary steps immediately to increase the
morale and satisfaction of the workers because workers form the integral part of the
organization.The management should convince the workers about their importance in the
organization and the workers should feel that they belong to the organisation family. The
study helped to identify the reasons for absenteeism and the satisfaction level of the workers
towards the various factors leading to absenteeism. The management can take steps to reduce
absenteeism by implementing the suggestions and can take some more measures by
considering the causes of absenteeism. The companies can become the largest manufacturers
in the world if they adopt necessary steps to reduce the problems in the factory through
employee engagement.
7
www.aeph.in

IJEMR October 2016 - Vol 6 Issue 10 - Online - ISSN 22492585 Print - ISSN 2249-8672
References
1. Amanda Allisey , John Rodwell , Andrew Noblet , (2016) "An application of an extended
effort-reward imbalance model to police absenteeism behaviour", Personnel Review, Vol. 45
Iss: 4, pp.663 680.
2. Anne Junor, John O'Brien, Michael O'Donnell, (2009) "Welfare wars: public service frontline
absenteeism as collective resistance", Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Vol.
6 Iss: 1/2, pp.26 40.
3. Dirk van Dierendonck, Pascale M. Le Blanc, Wim van Breukelen, (2002) "Supervisory
behavior, reciprocity and subordinate absenteeism", Leadership & Organization Development
Journal, Vol. 23 Iss: 2, pp.84 92.
4. Denis Chnevert, Genevieve Jourdain, Nina Cole, Brigitte Banville, (2013) "The role of
organisational justice, burnout and commitment in the understanding of absenteeism in the
Canadian healthcare sector", Journal of Health Organization and Management, Vol. 27 Iss: 3,
pp.350 367.
5. Dwayne Devonish , (2014) "Job demands, health, and absenteeism: does bullying make
things worse?", Employee Relations, Vol. 36 Iss: 2, pp.165 181.
6. James H. Morris, J. Daniel Sherman, Robert A. Snyder, (1989) "Prediction of Absenteeism
from Attitudes, Prior Absenteeism, and Performance", Personnel Review, Vol. 18 Iss: 1, pp.16
22.
7. James N. Mac Gregor, J. Barton Cunningham, Natasha Caverley, (2008) "Factors in
absenteeism and presenteeism: life events and health events", Management Research News,
Vol. 31 Iss: 8, pp.607 615.
8. Jeff Frooman, Morris B. Mendelson, J. Kevin Murphy, (2012) "Transformational and passive
avoidant leadership as determinants of absenteeism", Leadership & Organization Development
Journal, Vol. 33 Iss: 5, pp.447 463.
9. K. Praveen Parboteeah, Helena M. Addae, John B. Cullen, (2005) "National Culture and
Absenteeism: An Empirical Test", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 13 Iss:
4, pp.343 361.
10.Pranab Kumar Pani , Pallavi Kishore , (2016) "Absenteeism and performance in a
quantitative module A quantile regression analysis", Journal of Applied Research in Higher
Education, Vol. 8 Iss: 3, pp.376 389.

8
www.aeph.in