Absenteeism of Employees in a BPO Company

The concept of absenteeism has been explained so far in various ways. According to one line of thought, absenteeism is due to a lack of “commitment” on the side of the workforce. It is related to new values and norms, which are developing among the employees, as a result of technological developments. Work and leisure are now cherished by the employees, which they want to enjoy along with the monetary benefits from the services. American authors hold the view that absenteeism is due to the “internal administration of an organization”. According to them, “the work milieu is very important since a large part of the worker’s daily life is spent there”. The atmosphere in the workplace, therefore, affects the attitude towards the work, and either persuades the workers to attend regularly or keeps them away. Irritating uncertainty, irregularity, and confusion in the workplace are likely to be important causes of absenteeism. The attitude and practice of the management also contribute to absenteeism. A traditional management treats employees as hirelings, while an enlightened management treats them as human beings. This difference in behavior leads, in the former situation, to high absenteeism, and in the latter situation to a close affinity with the organization and resulted in lower absenteeism. This paper outlines the various aspects and impacts of absenteeism in a BPO industry. Sample sizes of 75 participants were taken in order to conduct research and random sampling technique was used in order to conduct the survey. The data was collected by interviewing the respondents with the help of a structured questionnaire.