Impact of Calling Out of Work on Team Productivity and Morale 

Calling out of work is sometimes important, because you will encounter difficulties. Those can be simple, or they can be severe, and they are something you can’t ignore. However, there are also people that call out of work due to not having the mood to work that day or, in some cases, they don’t feel productive at all. But the thing is, does calling out of work have any effect on team productivity and morale? Does it really matter if people don’t come to work during the day, how does the team react to that?

Team morale can be down when people are calling out of work

That’s because a task that would be performed by 3 people is split between only 2 people, for example. There are less people to do the same amount of work, and that alone is not simple. It will bring in significant problems and challenges, so you want to address them accordingly. In these situations, the best approach is always to try and find alternative methods to fulfill the work.

Of course morale will be down if one of the team members is missing. And most of the time, people are calling out of work because of an emergency. Either it’s a personal matter, an emergency like flooding, death in the family, or maybe a health issue. Regardless, there will be times when a virtual team member will not be able to join, and that will be a problem.

It’s also the reason why you can’t rely on a single person. You need to find an ideal way of handling the process and adapting based on the situation at hand. There will be issues that arise, so you have to find an ideal way of managing that problem in a way that’s quick and effective. 

How to find solutions when someone is calling out of work?

• One of the best things you can do is to connect with the employee and ensure that they provide all their work and progress. That way, the remaining team members can build upon what’s already there. It will save time, and it will also make it easier to tackle any potential concerns or challenges.
• Bringing a team member from another department to assist can also be a solution. Most of the time, it’s a last-resort approach. But it certainly helps, since it brings you a new perspective and someone to replace the missing employee.
• Make sure that everything is documented and that you handle the appropriate paperwork. You want to be certain that the employee’s situation and their necessity to be calling out of work is written within the company documents.
• Establish policies and solutions to narrow down what approach you can use in order to boost productivity and avoid any potential concerns or problems that can appear business-wise.

Is it a problem if your staff is calling out of work?

As we mentioned earlier, a lot of the time those “calling out of work” situations are legit, and they happen for a reason. It usually means that the person in question has a personal issue to solve, and they need to take some time off. However, there will always be people that try to abuse the option to take free time off, and you need to have policies in place to prevent any abuse.

The problem is that a lot of the time, calling out of work frequently will leave people unhappy and uninspired. They will not feel productive, because they think it’s unfair that some employees receive extra time, while others work much harder than them. It’s the reason why you want to have good management, the right policies and adequate forward planning. Otherwise, it’s very possible to encounter a lot of abuse, and you need to tackle that problem accordingly. 

Does absenteeism cost your business?

Of course, not having an employee in their position for a day or a few days can be costly. Depending on the situation, the company can lose quite a bit of money. Plus, that’s even more so when you have a larger team which depends on the work that person needs to do. So there are definitely ups and downs when it comes to calling out of work.

Sure, the company will look better if it provides people with the means to take time off, as necessary. But you also have to realize that any work which is not done will extend deadlines, and it can lead to certain issues. It’s something to be aware of, especially in a business environment focused on teamwork and team structure. With that being said, if you take the right precautions and adjust on the fly, these situations will be much easier to handle. However, it always depends on the business, for some of them it will be easier, for others less so.

Does absenteeism affect morale?

It’s natural to have employees take some time off. But realistically, it will always affect the morale of other team members. That’s because everyone sees things from their perspective. They work hard, so they also want time off, even if the absenteeism of that person is justified. At the end of the day, you need to create a culture focused on professionalism, but also one that showcases understanding and growth within the workplace.

Regardless, you can’t really control how people think, and how they will react to someone calling out of work. Of course their morale will go down a lot of the time, just because they know there’s even more work to do and less people to complete that project. If anything, absenteeism does bring in additional pressure as you try to complete tasks and projects. That doesn’t mean it will be difficult, but in general, it does become more challenging, and a thing you have to think about as much as you can.

How can you support team members when someone is calling out of work?

These situations will happen, there’s no way around it. What you should always try to do is to offer your assistance and help to those team members. And you can do that in multiple ways:

• Provide them with direct access to software and tools that will help speed up the process. Even if someone is not available to work, the ability to automate some tasks or at least make them faster will certainly help quite a bit.
• Sometimes, people want to call out of work because they are sick. However, they might still be able to work from home. If that’s the case, try to offer them all the support they need in order to complete their work effectively and without any issues.
• Be transparent and communicate with your team. Offer more flexibility when it comes to deadlines, so even if someone is out for the day, they won’t feel the pressure to speed things up.

There will be times when people are calling out of work, it’s normal and something which happens more often than not. At the end of the day, what matters the most is how you are tackling these challenges and what failsafes you have in place. Making sure that you are fully prepared for someone missing for a day or two can be a game changer.