INTRODUCTION: The management of attendance is an important aspect of supervision in the workplace.

The cost of absenteeism is greater than the direct payment of wages and benefits paid during the absence. Absenteeism is referred to herein as failure of employees to report for work when they are scheduled to work. Employees who are away from work on recognized holidays, vacations, approved leaves of absence, or leaves of absence allowed for under the collective agreement provisions would not be included. Traditional methods of absenteeism control based only on disciplinary procedures have proven to be ineffective. It is almost impossible to create a fair disciplinary procedure because even well run disciplinary systems, which treat similar actions in consistently similar ways, are usually seen as unfair. The reason for this is discipline alone usually does not identify or address the root causes of absenteeism. Every employee who takes time off in defiance of company regulations has reasons, right or wrong, which justify to themselves the legitimacy of their actions. Unless a management attendance program identifies and addresses the causes of employee absenteeism it will be ineffective and unfair. It is no secret that there are ways to beat even the best systems. The fear of discipline often only increases the desire to avoid management systems. The physical and emotional needs of employees must be addressed. In a 1985 study on "Rates of Absence among Nurses" it was found that 50% of absenteeism could be controlled through attending to employees physical and emotional needs.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: To find out the reason for employee absenteeism. To measure the employee absenteeism level. To identify the steps required to decrease the absenteeism level. To solve the problem through effective management. Addressing the physical and emotional needs of our employees. Communicating the attendance goals of the organization so employees can understand and identify with them. Dealing with cases of excessive absenteeism effectively and fairly so deterrence can occur.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: There are three types of methods: Explorative Descriptive Experimental Descriptive method is chosen for this study. DATA SOURCES: Primary Data: The primary data was collected from a group of 25 respondents who were of the working class. The data was collected through a structured questionnaire. Secondary Data: Apart from the primary data, some of the secondary datas like articles, books and magazines were also referred and used for this study.

SAMPLING: Sample population and size: The samples were collected from about 25 respondents (employees) from different working areas. Sampling Area: The area selected for sampling is Sri Krishna Institutions, Suguna puram, Coimbatore. Sampling Method: The research was made by the survey in accordance to the convenience of employees. So the sample type is convenience sampling.

TOOLS USED FOR THE DATA COLLECTION: A structured questionnaire was used for data collection and the type of questions used was target questions.

DATA ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES: Factor Analysis Chi square test One sample test One way ANOVA Statistics and frequency distribution Independent Sample T test. All the above tests were performed with the help of IBM SPSS Statistics 19.

ANALYSIS: (i) Frequency Distribution: Statistical table:

Gender N Valid Missing Mean Std. Deviation Variance Skewness Std. Error of Skewness Kurtosis Std. Error of Kurtosis 30 0 1.3333 .47946 .230 .745 .427 -1.554 .833

Age 30 0 2.0667 1.04826 1.099 .629 .427 -.741 .833

Department Income 30 0 2.1333 1.04166 1.085 .502 .427 -.871 .833 30 0 3.2333 1.04000 1.082 -1.292 .427 .556 .833

The above table a simple statistical report of the collected data.

Frequency Tables: of the various demographic variables of the respondents.

Gender Cumulative Frequency Valid Male Female Total 20 10 30 Percent 66.7 33.3 100.0 Valid Percent 66.7 33.3 100.0 Percent 66.7 100.0

Age Cumulative Frequency Valid Below 25 25-35 35-45 45-55 Total 11 10 5 4 30 Percent 36.7 33.3 16.7 13.3 100.0 Valid Percent 36.7 33.3 16.7 13.3 100.0 Percent 36.7 70.0 86.7 100.0

Department Cumulative Frequency Valid Production Marketing Maintanance Packing Total 10 10 6 4 30 Percent 33.3 33.3 20.0 13.3 100.0 Valid Percent 33.3 33.3 20.0 13.3 100.0 Percent 33.3 66.7 86.7 100.0

Income Cumulative Frequency Valid Below 20000 20000 to 40000 40000 to 60000 Above 60000 Total 4 1 9 16 30 Percent 13.3 3.3 30.0 53.3 100.0 Valid Percent 13.3 3.3 30.0 53.3 100.0 Percent 13.3 16.7 46.7 100.0

Distribution check for the different variables:

Tests of Normality Kolmogorov-Smirnov Statistic Motivation Promotion Job_security Target Working_hours Management_response New_ideas Leave_per_month Shift Leave Superior Coworker a. Lilliefors Significance Correction .277 .244 .273 .328 .232 .191 .254 .227 .230 .291 .234 .291 df 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30
a

Shapiro-Wilk Statistic .771 .798 .783 .720 .857 .864 .793 .866 .840 .774 .802 .774 df 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 Sig. .000 .000 .000 .000 .001 .001 .000 .001 .000 .000 .000 .000

Sig. .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .007 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

Inference: The significance values (Kolmogorov Smirnov) of all the variables shows that the variables are normally distributed, since their values are lesser than 0.05.

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One way ANOVA: Based on age category:

Descriptives Leave_per_month 95% Confidence Interval for Mean N Below 25 25-35 35-45 45-55 Total 11 10 5 4 30 Mean 2.4545 2.1000 2.2000 2.5000 2.3000 Std. Deviation .93420 1.10050 .83666 1.29099 .98786 Std. Error .28167 .34801 .37417 .64550 .18036 Lower Bound 1.8269 1.3127 1.1611 .4457 1.9311 Upper Bound 3.0821 2.8873 3.2389 4.5543 2.6689 Minimum 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 Maximum 4.00 4.00 3.00 4.00 4.00

ANOVA Leave_per_month Sum of Squares Between Groups Within Groups Total .873 27.427 28.300 df 3 26 29 Mean Square .291 1.055 F .276 Sig. .842

Inference: The significant value 0.842 is greater than 0.05. Hence it can be said that the age category has some influence on the leave taken per month.

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Independent Sample T-test:

Group Statistics Age Leave_per_month Below 25 45-55 N 11 4 Mean 2.4545 2.5000 Std. Deviation .93420 1.29099 Std. Error Mean .28167 .64550

Group Statistics Age Leave_per_month 35-45 25-35 N 5 10 Mean 2.2000 2.1000 Std. Deviation .83666 1.10050 Std. Error Mean .37417 .34801

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means 95% Confidence Interval of the Sig. (2F Leave_per_ month Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed -.065 4.206 .951 -.04545 .70428 -1.96373 1.87282 .615 Sig. .447 t -.076 df 13 tailed) .941 Mean Std. Error Difference Lower -1.34164 Upper 1.25073

Difference Difference -.04545 .59998

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Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means 95% Confidence Interval of the Sig. (2F Leave_per_ month Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed .196 10.44 1 .849 .10000 .51099 -1.03207 1.23207 1.066 Sig. .321 t .178 df 13 tailed) .862 Mean Std. Error Difference Lower -1.11472 Upper 1.31472

Difference Difference .10000 .56228

Inference: The significance value implies that the leave taken by the employees of different age categories are same.

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EXPERIENCEs ASSOCIATION WITH ABSENTEEISM: Chi square test:

Experience * Leave_per_month Crosstabulation Count Leave_per_month o days Experience 1-5 yrs 6-8 yrs 9-12 yrs Total 6 1 0 7 1-5 days 3 1 1 5 5-10days 4 2 0 6 Above 10 days 1 1 0 2 Total 14 5 1 20

Inference: The number of leave taken by the most experienced people is 1. The number of leave taken by the least experienced people is 14.

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FINDINGS: Employee Absenteeism is observed based on two categories, namely, Age and experience. 66.7% of the respondents were males and 33.3% of employees were females. Age variations do not influence the absenteeism among employees. Employees with less experience acquire more leave than experienced people. Especially employees who have experience for more than 8 yrs avail the least leave per month. While the employees with nil or least experience availed maximum leave.

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SUGGESTIONS: People with more experience can be preferred for the job. Freshers and less experienced people should be motivated regularly. Increasing responsibilities to a certain limit can minimize absenteeism. Incentivising is way to less days off. Training regularly the managers and the employees. Discuss attendance records and absences with the employees. Making experienced employees to address the least experienced and newly joined employees. More attention can be given to employee welfare facilities.

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CONCLUSION: Absenteeism cannot be eradicated completely, but it can be controlled and minimized. This can be achieved by motivating the employees through proper guidance and support. Once when the employee start to realize that the job is theirs and work with compassion, absenteeism automatically gets reduced. It is not only the employees experience or attitude which influences the leave but also the policy and HR efficiency of a company plays a major role in the regularity of employees.

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ANNEXURE:
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EMPLOYEE ABSENTEEISM IN AN ORGANISATION 1. Name:

2. Gender:

3. Age (yrs.) a) Below 25 b) 25-35 c) 35-45 d) 45-55

4. Department: a) Production b) Marketing c) Maintenance d) Packing

5. Monthly Income (Rs.): a) Below 20000 b) 20000-40000 c) 40000 -60000 d) above 60000

6. Job Experience (yrs.): a) 1-5 yrs b) 6-8 yrs c) 9-12 yrs d) Above 12 yrs

7. Number of Family dependent: a) 1 member b) 2 member 3) 3 member 4) above 4 member

8. Does your company motivate you? a) Always b) Rarely c)Never

9. State your satisfaction level with the promotional measure provided by the organization? a) Highly satisfied b) Satisfied c) Neutral d) Dissatisfied e) Highly dissatisfied

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10. What do you feel about job security? a) Highly satisfied b) Satisfied c) Ok d) Dissatisfied e) Highly dissatisfied

11. Does your company reward you when a target is achieved? a) Always b) Rarely c) Never

12. Are you satisfy with working hours in your company? a) Highly satisfied b) Satisfied c) Ok d) Dissatisfied e) Highly dissatisfied

13. Are you satisfy with management response towards solving employee problem? a) Highly satisfied b) Satisfied c) Ok d) Dissatisfied e) Highly dissatisfied

14. Are you encouraged to suggest new ideas? a) Always b) Rarely c) Never

15. How many days do you usually take leave per month? a) 0 days b) 1-5 days c) 5-10 days d) above 10 days

16. Which shift you usually avail more leave? a) Morning shift b) afternoon shift c) night shift d) general shift

17. Did you take leave with prior permission? a) Sometimes b) rarely c) never

18. How do you feel about your relationship with your supervisor/superior? a) Excellent b) Good c)Normal d) Bad

19. How do you feel about your relationship with your coworker? a)Excellent b) Good c)Normal d) Bad

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20.Any suggestions to reduce the employees absenteeism?

____________________________________________________________.

Thanks for the information provided.

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