Absenteeism is the proportion of working time lost because employees are not at work when they were scheduled to be.

State one way of calculating an absenteeism rate.

It can be calculated as the number of days lost through absence divided by the total number of days that could have been worked, multiplied by 100.

A workforce of 160 has 8 employees absent on a particular day. Calculate that day's absence rate.

The absence rate is 5%, because 8 ÷ 160 × 100 = 5%.

A business with 150 employees, each able to work 220 days a year, loses 660 days to absence. Calculate its absenteeism rate.

The absenteeism rate is 2%, because the workforce could have worked 150 × 220 = 33,000 days and 660 ÷ 33,000 × 100 = 2%.

Covering absence costs £120 a day and 660 days are lost in a year. Calculate the annual cost of that cover.

The annual cost is £79,200, because 660 × £120 = £79,200.

A business whose workforce could work 33,000 days a year cuts absenteeism from 2% to 1.5%. Calculate the reduction in days lost.

Days lost fall from 660 to 495, a reduction of 165 days, because 1.5% of 33,000 is 495.

OCR A-Level Business (H436) H436

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Topic overview The purpose of operations and the transformation process Added value and how it is calculated Ways of adding value: convenience, branding, design and facilities Sustainability as a way of adding value Automation, robotics and 3D printing in production AI, cloud services and digital technology in production Efficiency, effectiveness and productivity Measuring and improving productivity Production quality: purpose and standards Quality control and quality assurance Capacity utilisation and how it is calculated Managing capacity: increasing output, cutting capacity and outsourcing Types of inventory and the purpose of inventory control Inventory control charts, re-order levels and lead time Just In Time and inventory management systems The stages of supply chain management Logistics: procurement, transport and reliability of supply Key performance indicators in operations

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People

Absenteeism and employee productivity

1 thing to know
Component 01

Overview

Recall questions on calculating absenteeism rates and their cost, causes of absence and how to reduce it, calculating output and revenue per employee, raising productivity, and reading turnover, absence and productivity together.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What is absenteeism?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is absenteeism?
Model answer
Absenteeism is the proportion of working time lost because employees are not at work when they were scheduled to be.
2
State one way of calculating an absenteeism rate.
Model answer
It can be calculated as the number of days lost through absence divided by the total number of days that could have been worked, multiplied by 100.
3
A workforce of 160 has 8 employees absent on a particular day. Calculate that day's absence rate.
Model answer
The absence rate is 5%, because 8 ÷ 160 × 100 = 5%.
4
A business with 150 employees, each able to work 220 days a year, loses 660 days to absence. Calculate its absenteeism rate.
Model answer
The absenteeism rate is 2%, because the workforce could have worked 150 × 220 = 33,000 days and 660 ÷ 33,000 × 100 = 2%.
5
Covering absence costs £120 a day and 660 days are lost in a year. Calculate the annual cost of that cover.
Model answer
The annual cost is £79,200, because 660 × £120 = £79,200.
6
A business whose workforce could work 33,000 days a year cuts absenteeism from 2% to 1.5%. Calculate the reduction in days lost.
Model answer
Days lost fall from 660 to 495, a reduction of 165 days, because 1.5% of 33,000 is 495.

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