Reducing Tardiness and Absenteeism Among Nursing Staff, Essay Example

Problem Statement

Tardiness and absenteeism is a major problem in the health sector and other greatly centralized and formalized organizations. A current report issued by the National Institute of Labor Studies (NILS) revealed that the rate of tardiness and absenteeism mounting with permanent employees (Moseley, 2010). In the hospitals, the causes for nurses reaching late or absenteeism are several. This can to certain extent be classified, however, to dissatisfaction with their routines or schedules because of inadequate scheduling. This can be minimized with the help of better planning and giving the opportunity to nurses to have more contribution in their working patterns. The complexity of tardiness and absenteeism in the health sector and other industries need a number of interventional solutions to assist a multi-dimensional analysis (Parry and Molmen, 2009). Solutions to tardiness and absenteeism will be discussed using the following frameworks, i.e. human resources, structural, symbolic and political. There is a practical need for the hospitals and healthcare sector to make a plan to reduce or avoid costs of tardiness and absenteeism. Such a plan must consist on such strategies which reflect the following organizational worlds.

Human Resource Framework

The framework of human resource concentrates that individuals have feelings, needs, and prejudices. From the perspective of human resource, the solution to success is to modify organizations to people. Increased jobs opportunities and little contribution in decision making process in a current job results in greater absences by reducing commitment and job satisfaction of employee. It has been said that people who are greatly satisfied from their jobs are less likely to be absent and more committed (Moseley, 2010). Similarly, nurses will be more satisfied from their jobs when shared case management and governance models are utilized. Shared governance approach or a participative style of management is an efficient approach to motivate clinical decision-making control, autonomy, trust and confidence in nurses that ultimately result in retention and improved job satisfaction of nurses. And the model of case management is believed to be the maximum reflective system to empower nurses with the help of roles that encourage their authority, control, confidence and enthusiasm. In this way nurses who are pleased with their works will not call for sick leave frequently (Moseley, 2010). Participative management or shared governance is when personnel are involved committees and on task forces. This participation provides personnel the possibility to take decisions about specific protocols, policies, or programs within the organization.

Structural Basis

The structural framework concentrates the significance of official roles to honest behavior in relation to goal relationships and achievement. Groups establish policies and rules for personnel to follow to. The following are numerous approaches that leaders of nurses can exercise to control tardiness and absenteeism: (a) proactive approaches, (b) progressive discipline, and (c) maintaining the records of attendance (Wolper, 2009). Proactive approaches consist on personnel signing that they have go through the procedure and policy pertaining to tardiness and absenteeism. Thus, the personnel understand what the institute requires and they understand the legal action taken in case the unnecessary absences take place. And the progressive approaches consist on various punishment levels in case of absences (Smith, 2009). Maintaining the records of attendance follow excessive patterns and use of sick time as it increases. The records of attendance must be examined with each personnel more regularly with those mounting trends of tardiness and absenteeism.

Political Approaches

The political framework concentrates that the manager has power to hire and fire. The manager can seek to negotiate with personnel (Smith, 2009). Bargaining power is used by communicating an employee that he/she will have all weekend off in the coming month merely if he/she is present for the planned duty tour of the running month. The leaders of nurses can exercise coercive power and reward to reduce tardiness and absenteeism. Coercive power means the potential to punish of followers’ noncompliance (Parry and Molmen, 2009). And reward power means the ability of person to recompense the behaviors. Another kind of program that reduces the use of late arrivals and sick leave is the program of disciplinary-control. These programs are intrusions that present an aversive outcome to inadequate attendance. These consist on: (a) no-fault, (b) disciplinary action, and (c) review at year end (Wolper, 2009). This program is an instance of coercive power. The manager in healthcare sector has the authority to punish non-adherence of the tardiness and absenteeism policy. The above are illustrations of political basis solutions that managers in healthcare sector can exercise to reduce absenteeism.

Symbolic Approach

The symbolic approach discards the statement of rationality that is basis to every of the other frameworks. Organizational sectors are highly conceptualized because of pertaining exceptional cultures, with shared beliefs, policies, and goals that are a purpose of the culture. So the health care organizational culture must be of such type where recurrent absences are not accepted. A fundamental cultural belief must be respectable for peer personnel and loyalty to the organization. The stories of organizations must communicate the outcomes of tardiness and absenteeism. Ceremonies must be celebrated with employees with the presence of loyalty towards the organization (Moseley, 2010). Encouraging an impression of history involves communication by and about heroes and other people. For instance, the ceremonies that reward and award employees for complete attendance.  Building a sense of oneness includes communicating the values and norms related to the concerned sector. The organizational values consist on the respect for peer employees and loyalty towards organization. The organizational norms consist on the belief that too much absenteeism would not be accepted.  Developing a sense of membership involves socialization of new members of staff (Wolper, 2009). The socialization staff members that are new to the health sector involve the communicating values, attitudes, and assumptions of existed employees to the employees those who just enter into the sector. The values, attitudes and assumptions of employees that are older must involve organization loyalty, employee respect and non acceptance for too much absenteeism. A manager in the healthcare sector must assure that the culture of the organization is such type where the recurrent late arrivals and absences are not accepted (Smith, 2009). The manager can establish this type of culture by penalizing those who are late and absent most of the time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, solutions to tardiness and absenteeism in nurses can be put into practice from the above discussed frameworks. The managers in the hospitals or healthcare sector can exercise these solutions to reduce the tardiness and absenteeism in their relevant organization.

References

Moseley, George. (2010). Managing Health Care Business Strategy. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Wolper, Lawrence. (2009). Health Care Administration: Planning, Implementing, and Managing Organized Delivery Systems, 6^th Edition. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Parry, Thomas; and Molmen, William. (2009). Depression: a lot bigger than you think: the absenteeism- and presenteeism-related costs of depression outweigh the medical and pharmaceutical costs. The Journal from Employee Assistance.

Smith, James. (2009). “The Relationship Between Health Care Costs, Absenteeism, and Body Mass Index in a Group of Municipal Employees.” A Brief Article From American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.