The concept of absenteeism management system in an enterprise

Abstract

In many Polish enterprises managing absenteeism is dictated by legal regulations in this regard and managerial  pragmatics boiling down mainly to the control of absences and disciplining employees. In recent years, the approach of firms to  employees has been changing. Caring about their condition, commitment and satisfaction from work are not perceived as a duty any  more, but as a chance. However, there is no universal methodology of absenteeism management integrating the holistic approach and  interdisciplinary approach, combining various spheres and perspectives. The aim of the paper is to present a concept of the  absenteeism management system in an enterprise, the usefulness of which is related to the system’s fulfilment of formalisation,  diagnostic and motivational function aimed at the reduction of sickness absenteeism and the improvement of the enterprise  performance. A thesis was adopted that the policy and operational activities undertaken within absenteeism management lead to the  creation of common value for the firm and the employees. The common value creation focuses on the identification of relations between  the economic and social development and the management of these relations. The presented concept of the system of managing sickness absenteeism includes five elements: goals and subject of the management, diagnosing causes and effects of absenteeism, preventive measures, the measurement of the effectiveness of the measures, as well as the analysis and assessment  of the impact of these activities on the company performance, and the verification of the methods of absenteeism management  process. The basic aspects of this process, namely the subjective, purposive and instrumental aspect are described, but special  attention is paid to the use of modern methods of management and alternative models of managing people. To fulfil the goal defined in  this way, the following research methods were used: an analysis of the research findings of predecessors and the findings of own empirical research into the conditions of the humanisation of work and the factors of work motivation. Due to the limited framework of the paper, only selected, more important research threads were tackled, particularly those which concern the relationship between a  manager and a subordinated employee.