On any given day, about 1,500 J.C. Penney Co. employees are on a leave of absence from one of the company's 11,000 stores across the country.
About 1,200 workers a day will be out on disability. It's a problem lamented in human resources offices across the nation as lost days of work can add up to big money. And in recessionary times when profits are slim, it's a cost that most managers would prefer to eliminate.
The nation's 300 largest employers estimate that unscheduled absenteeism costs their businesses more than $760,000 a year in direct payroll costs — and more when lower productivity, lost revenue and the effects of poor morale are considered, according to a 2007 survey by research firm CCH Inc.
Only a third of all absences are related to an illness, said Susan Frear, of the Society for Human Resource Management.
"The rest of the absences are related to having to be someplace else or they just don't feel like coming in," Frear said. "So a lot has to do with the culture of the place."
For smaller companies, experts say a different managerial approach can curtail habitual absences.
"Take a hard look at the climate," said Barb Ashbaugh, who owns Ashbaugh's Trade Secret LLC, a performance management company in Plano, Texas.
Ashbaugh said authoritarian managers "who make employees feel it's their way or the highway" cause most absences.
"I think a lot of managers, when people are absent, just write them off. Then as time goes by they say, 'Gee, this person has been out a lot,' " said Nancy Glube, a human resources executive in Atlanta. "If they're a good manager, they'll be in touch with what's going on in their lives."
Fast Facts
Penney pinching
The program: J.C. Penney Co. implemented a program two months ago to reduce absenteeism.
How it works: If you're sick and can't work for more than three days, you call the company's PowerLine. The PowerLine team determines the type of benefit, if any, you receive — workers' comp, short-term disability or leave of absence.The team notifies the store where you work, and the appropriate insurance carrier, and sends you any forms to complete. The PowerLine employee follows up with absent workers, repeatedly checking on their condition.
The benefits: "I've found that when someone goes out on disability, that person undergoes a significant event in their life, and if no one checks on them to see how they're doing, they could stay out longer than necessary," said Jim Cuva, Penney's benefit manager. "It's letting them know we care."So far the program is working, Cuva said.
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