A study on Absenteeism at Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd.

(TAFE)
Project Report

SUBMITTED

In Partial Fulfillment of Requirement for the Award of Degree of

MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK

Submitted by

JINI RAJAN THOMAS

MSWS-18-11

Under the guidance of

PROF. INIAN

Asst. Professor

Post Graduate Department of Social Work (SF)

MADRAS SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK (AUTONOMOUS)

[Affiliated to the University of Madras]

32, Casa Major Road, Egmore, Chennai- 60000

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Gratitude to a group of people wells up in my heart who had given their generous
support and collaboration in the compilation of my research project work.

I express my deep and heartfelt gratitude to God Almighty who through persons,
events and timely interventions helped me and was at my side in all my
undertakings during my project work.

I would like to thank Dr. Raja Samuel, Principal, Madras School of Social Work
for giving me this wonderful opportunity to pursue my Masters in Social Work
programme at MSSW.

I am grateful to Dr. C. Francis, Head of the P.G Department of Social Work (Shift
– II) for his valuable and timely direction.

I express my sincere and heartfelt gratitude from the bottom of my heart to my

mini research guide Prof. Inian who spared his precious time, in order to guide me,
and clarify all my doubts.

I express my sincere thanks to G.KARTHIK, Executive Manager, Personnel

Department, TAFE Ltd., under whose guidance I carried out this mini research. I
am grateful to all my respondents who took the trouble to respond to my questions
and without whom this research would not have materialized.

Finally, I thank all my friends who helped me one way or another in making this
mini research project a success.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

COMPANY PROFILE 4-6

INTRODUCTION 8

REVIEW OF LITERATURE 9-13

FIELD OF STUDY 13

NEED FOR THE STUDY 13

OBJECTIVES 14

RESEARCH DESIGN 14

SAMPLING DESIGN 14

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 15

SOURCE OF DATA COLLECTION 15

GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION AND 16-27

ANALYSIS OF DATA

MAIN FINDINGS 27-28

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 28-29

BIBLIOGRAPHY 30

ANNEXURE

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Company Profile
TAFE – Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, is an Indian tractor major incorporated in
1960 at Chennai, with an annual turnover of INR 93 billion (2014-15). The third-largest
tractor manufacturer in the world and the second largest in India by volumes, TAFE wields
about 25% market share of the Indian tractor industry with a sale of over 150,000 tractors
(domestic and international) annually.

TAFE's partnership with AGCO Corporation and the Massey Ferguson brand for over 58
years is a stellar example of its commitment to building long-term relationships with its
stakeholders, through fair and ethical business practices. TAFE is also a significant
shareholder in AGCO Corporation, USA – a US $8.3 billion tractor and agricultural
equipment manufacturer.

TAFE has earned the trust of customers through its range of products that are widely
acclaimed for quality and low cost of operation. A strong distribution network of over 1000
dealers effectively backs TAFE‘s four iconic tractor brands – Massey Ferguson, TAFE,
Eicher and the recently acquired Serbian tractor and agricultural equipment brand IMT –
Industrija Mašina i Traktora. TAFE exports tractors, both in partnership with AGCO and
independently, powering farms in over 100 countries which include developed countries in
Europe and the Americas.

Besides tractors, TAFE and its subsidiaries have diverse business interests in areas such as
farm-machinery, Diesel engines and gensets, agro engines, engineering plastics, gears and
transmission components, batteries, hydraulic pumps and cylinders, vehicle franchises and
plantations.

From a humble beginning with just one tractor model in 1961, TAFE today is recognized as a
high quality mass-manufacturer with an extensive product range to meet the expectations of
every farmer and every farm mechanization need. TAFE's R&D facilities are centers of
excellence renowned for their innovative design and engineering expertise and have been
recognized by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India.
Extensive research and testing ensures that TAFE's products meet its exacting performance
standards.

TAFE's plant at Turkey manufactures a range of tractors for distribution in Turkey through
AGCO's dealer network, while another facility in China caters to TAFE‘s ever growing global
sourcing needs and value addition to its Indian and worldwide operations. TAFE acquired
Eicher's tractors, gears and transmission components and engines business in 2005 through a
wholly owned subsidiary, TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited (TMTL).

TAFE believes in sound corporate governance and is reputed for being a consistent profit -
making company and an ethical organization. TAFE‘s commitment to Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) involves contribution to the environment and society while facilitating
growth of all stakeholders with equal fervor, embodying the role of a responsible corporate

4
citizen. TAFE‘s social focus has been significant since inception, contributing towards
meaningful causes in the area of agriculture, education, healthcare, community development,
women empowerment, conservation and tribal welfare, disaster relief, preservation and
propagation of Indian culture and its traditional art forms.

TAFE is committed to the Total Quality Movement (TQM). In the recent past various
manufacturing plants of TAFE have garnered numerous ‗TPM Excellence Awards‘ from the
Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM), as well as a number of other regional awards for
TPM excellence. TAFE became the first Indian tractor manufacturer to win the Frost &
Sullivan Global Manufacturing Leadership Award in 2018, being recognized with the
‗Enterprise Integration and Technology Leadership Award‘ and two ‗Supply Chain
Leadership Awards‘.

In recognition of its outstanding contribution to engineering exports, TAFE has been named
the ‗Star Performer – Large Enterprise (Agricultural Tractors)‘ at the 40th Engineering
Exports Promotion Council of India – Southern Region Awards (2015-16), for the 21st time in
a row. TAFE has also been conferred the ‗Regional Contributor Award‘ for quality supplies
from Toyota Motor Company, Japan, and the ‗Manufacturing Supply Chain Operational
Excellence - Automobiles Award‘ at the second Asia Manufacturing Supply Chain Summit
for its supply chain transformation in 2013. TAFE's tractor plants are certified under ISO
9001 for efficient quality management systems and under ISO 14001 for environment friendly
operations.

In 2013, TAFE was presented the coveted ‗Agriculture Leadership Award' by Agriculture
Today Magazine and the ‗Corporate Citizen of the Year Award‘ by Public Relations Council
of India (PRCI). TAFE was also named the ‗Best Employer in India 2013‘ by Aon Hewitt and
has the distinction of receiving commendation for ‗Significant Achievement on the journey
towards Business Excellence‘ by the CII-EXIM Bank – Business Excellence Award jury in
2012.

TAFE is a part of The Amalgamations Group from Chennai, one of India‘s largest light
engineering groups. Comprising 40 companies, it is involved in the design, development and
manufacture of Diesel engines, automobile components, light engineering goods, plantations
and services.

Mallika Srinivasan - Chairman & CEO

Mallika Srinivasan is a thought leader and a strategist, recognized for entrepreneurship,

commitment to excellence and contribution to Indian agriculture machinery business and
academia. She is presently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TAFE - Tractors and
Farm Equipment Limited, an INR 93 billion tractor major incorporated in 1960 at Chennai,
India. TAFE is today, the third largest tractor manufacturer in the world and the second

5
largest in India by volumes, with an annual sale of over 150,000 tractors and presen ce in over
100 countries, including developed countries in Europe and the Americas.

She is additionally, on the Board of AGCO Corporation - USA, TATA Steel Limited and
TATA Global Beverages Limited. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Indian
School of Business, Hyderabad, the Governing Board of the Indian Institute of Technology,
Chennai.

In a span of 25 years, Mallika has established TAFE as a quality mass manufacturer of

tractors, a lean and resilient organization that can effectively weather the cyclicality of the
tractor business. With her special emphasis on product and process development, she has
ensured significant expansion of TAFE's product range.

She enhanced and leveraged the engineering strengths at TAFE to design, develop and
manufacture a range of products for international markets, while simultaneously strengthening
TAFE's partnership with AGCO for mutual growth, in both, the components and complete
tractors businesses. TAFE is also a significant shareholder in AGCO Corporation, USA – a
US $8 billion tractor and agricultural equipment manufacturer.

6
A study on Absenteeism at
Tractors and Farm
Equipment Ltd. (TAFE)

7
Abstract -Absenteeism has identified as one of the key problems that affects the production
and organizational culture of the organization. Absenteeism is not only harm to the
organization but also harm to the individual‟s professional career and psychological well-
being. So absenteeism is a chronic factor that influences the organization‟s profit and
culture.

INTRODUCTION
Absenteeism is an employee's intentional or habitual absence from work. While employers
expect workers to miss a certain number of workdays each year, excessive absences can equate
to decreased productivity and can have a major effect on company finances, morale and other
factors. This article looks at the causes of absenteeism, the costs of lost productivity and what
employers can do to reduce absenteeism rates in the workplace.[1] The term absenteeism refers
to the failure to attend to work. It is one of the major problems faced by companies across the
globe today. High rate of absenteeism is neither desirable to employers nor good for the
employees. In majority of organizations, high rate of absenteeism has an adverse effect on
quality and quantity of production, efficiency of workers and organization, organizational
discipline and more importantly on the organization's intention to fulfill the new market
demands. Unscheduled absenteeism badly hurts the progress of an organization resulting in loss
of productivity, increased costs in hiring additional staff and low morale among the workers.

In this project, I focused on absenteeism among the employees working in TAFE to determine
the causes for the absenteeism and also find out if lack of balance of work life leads to
absenteeism.

A predominant feature in the Indian industries is absenteeism and its effect on labour efficiency.
Employee‘s absence rates, its effect on productivity are topics of discussion among many
country as high rates of employee absence may signal weak labour-management relations,
resulting in low productivity. Experience has shown person-days are lost on account of absen-
teeisms impacts more than due to industrial disputes and allied situations. Absenteeism among
the labour affects predominantly its economy, in comparison to other factors. Adverse effects on
productivity for the employers and loss of wages among employees are experienced.

8
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Absenteeism in the workplace is probably one of the most difficult areas of employee discipline
to control. This is usually because the problem is seldom properly monitored - supervisors ignore
it on the basis that the employee won't get paid for the day anyway, so it is his own fault.
Problems of lost production, other workers getting upset because they have to pick up the
workload of the absent employee, and so on are not even thought of by the supervisor.

In the opinion of Dakely C.A. (1948) ―Absenteeism is the ratio of the number of production man-days
or shifts lost to the total number of production scheduled to work‖.The labour bureau (1962) defines
absenteeism as the total shifts lost because of absence as percentage of the total number of man shifts
scheduled to work. Likewise Hackett J.D (1929) defines it as ―the temporary cessation of work for not
less than one whole working day initiative of the worker when his presence is expected by the
employer‖. Similarly encyclopedia of social science observes ―Absenteeism as the time lost in indus-
trial establishment by avoidable or unavoidable absence of employees. The time lost by the strikes or
by lateness amounting to an hour or two is not usually included‖. Knowles (1979) opined that although
absence from work may be due to any of a large number of factors, empirical evidence supporting the
view that causal factors can be organisational in nature is scant. Absence may be regarded as one facet
of a wider behavioural problem pervading entire organizational sub-units. The author suggests that
absence could be used along with other variables as a valuable personnel statistic indicating areas of
organisational dysfunction. This means that if levels of absenteeism in such cases as these were to be
improved the solution should be looked for at the organisational level rather than at the individual or
job level.

Gibert. Et.al., (1992) Studied if continuous exposure to airconditioning during working hours has an
observable effect on health. Absenteeism from ill health recorded by company doctors was compared
in two groups of employees of the French National Electric and Gas Company in western France,
working in similar jobs and spending most of their time in either air- conditioned offices or a natural
atmosphere. No difference between the two groups was observed during the two years studied with
respect to the incidence, duration or frequency of medically-related absences. A similar investigation
of absences due only to respiratory diseases resulted in the same conclusion. This study showed that
air-conditioning has no major effects on health.

Chevalier.et.al., (1993) Studied the health status of electricity workers exposed to electromagnetic
fields during their job.Two groups of exposed workers were studied from 1978 to 1993:
the live line workers (n = 121) and the substation workers (n= 232.7) of the French Electricity
Company (EDF). A control group was randomly selected from all the company non-management male
employees; one control for each exposed subject was matched for the first year of employment.
Absenteeism indices and mortality rates were computed and compared in the exposed and control
groups. The absence rates were 1 .98% in the substation workers and 2.5% in the control group
(p<0.001) and 2.7% in the live-line workers and 2.8% in the control group (NS). No effect of the
length of exposure was found. However the medical causes of sickness absence were different:
exposed employees had less psychiatric and respiratory diseases but more accidents at work than their
control group.

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Examination of the Causes of Absenteeism.

The causes of absence are unlikely to be explained by any single factor, and current thinking sees
its causes in terms of multiple factors. Graham and Bennett (1995) believe that the factors
contributing to non-attendance include the nature of the job, personal characteristics of the
worker and motivating incentives. Up until the late 1970s, much of the research into absence
focused on trying to find a single factor to explain it If this were possible then employers would
have been able to solve the problem. It is in no way as easy as that, as Nicholson (1977) has
identified. He splits absence into three categories. Firstly, pain avoidance which puts forward the
argument of job dissatisfaction which cannot be seen as a single cause of absence, but without
any doubt is one of a number of factors that influence absenteeism.

The second theory put forward is the adjustment to work. This argues that employees adapt to
the situation found in the workplace and that new employees will observe absence behaviour of
their colleagues. This raises many questions about the culture, management style, even the work
conditions and in the workplace. Another adjustment to work perspective sees absence in terms
of an employee‘s response to both the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards found in the workplace, and
is associated with the equity and exchange theory Rhodes and Steers (1990). This argues that
individuals expects a fair exchange in what they bring to their jobs in terms of skill, knowledge
and commitment and the rewards or outcomes they get out of it. One must raise the question of
whether these relate to intrinsic factors such as job satisfaction, or extrinsic factors such as pay
and benefits. If either falls short of employee‘s expectations they will go absent?

The third theory sees absence as a result of a decision made on the basis of the cost and benefit
associated with absence. If the employee values a day off more day pay — will they go absent?
This does not explain why some employees are motivated to go to work while others stay away.
There has been research to support the view that the provision of occupational sick pay, which
reduces the economic cost of absence, leads to higher absenteeism.

More recent research has tended to emphasize the complex nature of the factors influencing
absence, and is associated in particular with the ideas of Nicholson (1977), Steers and Rhodes
(1978,1984) and Rhodes and Steers (1990). The implications of the earlier research were that
absence could be avoided as long as the cause was identified and the appropriate policies
applied. Steers and Rhodes (1984) argue that absence behavior needs to take into account
variations in the personal characteristics, attitudes, value and backgrounds of individuals and the
fact that people do become genuinely ill and have domestic difficulties from time to time.
Nicholson (1977) in his model of attendance motivation believes that attendance is
normal behaviour, and that to search for a cause of absence for the factors that disturb the
regularity of attendance. Whether people will attend given a particular set of circumstance
depends on a number of variables such as age, sex, gender, work conditions, group cohesion etc.

Steers and Rhodes (1978) suggest in their model of absenteeism, that job satisfaction and
pressure to attend work interact to determine attendance and motivation. Actual attendance will
depend on both motivation and ability to attend; pressure to attend could come from the fear of
losing their job. There are of course other influences on why people go absent. The nature of
their jobs, the opportunities they provide for satisfaction and involvement, are all key factors.

10
The rules in the workplace may be strict or lenient, even travel difficulties may affect the ability
to attend.

To date there appears to be little agreement on the factors which influence an employee‘s
decision on whether to attend or not attend work. Sargent Andrew (1989). „The Missing
Workforce, (Managing Absenteeism), London Institute of Personnel Management, argues
that this is due mainly to firms not properly monitoring their absence levels, and causes, and
often by reluctance amongst management to admit they have a problem. This, he states, arises
from the fact that once a problem is identified, there will be pressure on
management to correct it.

The factors that influences absenteeism include

 The nature of the work

Individuals desire self-esteem, self confidence and achievement and the esteem of others -
recognition, status, appreciation and respect.
Employees have a craving to demonstrate competence and accomplishments, to build a
reputation for themselves as an outstanding performer and to hold a position of
prestige Argyle M, (1993)

Very often what drives people away from their work is the sheer boredom of the job
which is contributed to by the job itself and the environment in which they work.
Armstrong states “A high degree of task repetitiveness is associated with absenteeism
although job dissatisfaction itself is a contributory rather than primary cause of
absence‖ Armstrong M. (2003)

For example, a sale assistant within a store whose sole responsibility is to operate the till
and deal with endless queues for customers may become very frustrated and simply
decide to give himself/herself a break, i.e. go absent.

 The size of the organization –

―While large organisations with over 599 employees comprise of only 3% of total workplaces;
they account for nearly 1/3 of all employees.
Therefore size matters, all other things being equal the large the organisation, the
greater the need for rules and procedures to achieve consistency of behaviour”.
Beardwell, Holden, Claydon (2004)

As an organisation grows and expands, employees may feel they no longer matter or fail
to see where they fit in anymore.

 Personnel Policy –
"Policies and practices regarding attendance and absence are
conventionally viewed in the literature on absence management as part of the cure and
not its cause ” Evans & Walters, (2002)

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In many organisations there is an acceptable level of absenteeism, this level varies
depending on the company. Often policies encourage absenteeism, such as only tackling
the problem when it reaches a certain ‗trigger point‘, such as, allowing people a certain
amount of sick days per annum, paying attendance bonuses as part of their total salary,
thereby acting as no strong incentive to attend work.

 Quality of Supervision –
supervision is the single most important factor in managing absenteeism. The relationships built
up between managers, supervisors and staff will have the biggest effect on commitment to the
organisation. The level of commitment of a person towards their job will determine their level of
absenteeism.

 Genuine Incapacity - something often forgotten when talking about absenteeism is that
from time to time people are genuinely ill or incapacitated. ―// is wrong to assume that
every absentee is absent because of a family commitment, laziness or boredom, people do
get sick”\ Lylczak (1996)

If firms take the maximum amount of interest in their employees they will be more likely
to know whether their absence is a result of illness or other factors which require further
investigation.

Other Influences on Employee Absenteeism

The Job Situation, Satisfaction and attendance Motivation Model

This model suggests that the primary. influence on employee attendance or nonattendance
is the employee‘s motivation to come to work. It is reasonable to assume that
when an employee enjoys their job and their work and their work environment, they will
be more likely to possess the desire to come to work. Their job situation will affect their
level of attendance or absenteeism.

The Job Situation consists of variables that characterises the nature of the job and the work
environment, these variables are-

a) Job Scope - research has shown that there is a high correlation between variations in job scope
and absenteeism. Absenteeism has been found to relate to lack of autonomy, responsibility and
input into decisions.

b) Job Level - another factor relating to absenteeism is the employee‘s position within the
organisational hierarchy. Often people higher up in an organization have greater levels of job
satisfaction which reduces their absenteeism, where as people lower down the ladder are less
satisfied and therefore are absent more often.

c) Role Stress - role conflict is associated with job related tension and reduced job satisfaction.
Absenteeism is more likely to be associated with jobs that are of high-stress.

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d) Work-Group Size - “A group often seems to follow the same motivation process as an
individual It can be frustrated and show the negative reactions of aggression, regression, and
fixation Graham & Bennett (1989) .As work-group size increases, so does the level of
absenteeism. Similarly as the organisation grows so does the level of absenteeism.

e) Leader Style - “A number o f studies have identified links between the leadership style of the
first-line manager and absence behaviour in work.Employees who feel more able to discuss
their problems with their manager
have been found to go absent less that those who felt unable to do so Evans
& Walters, (2002)

f) Co-Worker Relations - relationships among co-workers is closely correlated

with the level of job satisfaction, if a worker enjoys their job then they will be
motivated to attend work.

g) Opportunities for Advancement - the prospect of promotion influences the employee‘s

response to the general job situation. If staff are likely to be promoted, then they are more likely
to attend work, as high levels of absenteeism would not reflect well on their character.

Field of Study
The research was carried out in a manufacturing sector. Tractors and farm equipments has been
chosen by the researcher. It is a Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, is an Indian tractor
major incorporated in 1960 at Chennai. TAFE is a part of The Amalgamations Group from
Chennai, one of India‘s largest light engineering groups. Comprising 40 companies, it is
involved in the design, development and manufacture of Diesel engines, automobile
components, light engineering goods, plantations and services. The reason why the researcher
has taken up MRF as the company for study is based on the good reviews shared by the
seniors of the institution and this made the researcher curious to know about the organization
and the factors that contribute to making the company leader in manufacturing tracto rs. The
researcher carried out the research by taking 50 workers as samples.

Need and Scope of the Study

The importance of human resource management is increasingly realized in industrial and non
industrial organisation both in India and abroad. This realization has come about because of
increasing complexity of management and administration. The present critical problem facing
most HR departments is tackling the problem of absenteeism in their organisation, a predominant
feature of Indian industrial life. It fundamentally depends on the organisational culture, the
working condition and the resultant attitude on the employees. Absenteeism is a predominant
problem for a management because it involves heavy expenses.The present work has been
undertaken to analyse the extent and causes of absenteeism at Tafe Ltd. Chennai, TamilNadu,
India. Absenteeism is universal, but the magnitude varies according to place and occupation. The
management being uncertain about the duration of absenteeism, inhibit appropriate measures to
fill the job. Absenteeism rate is a yardstick indicating employee‘s attitudes towards his work and

13
organisation. The study of finding the factors influencing absenteeism and analyzing the extent
of it.

Aim/Objectives of the Study

•To determine the extent of the problem of absenteeism in TAFE.

• To ascertain the causes of absenteeism.

•Effects of absenteeism

•Determine the ability of the worker to balance work life

Research Methodology
“Research is the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information to increase our
understanding of the phenomenon under study. It is the function of the researcher to contribute to
the
understanding of the phenomenon and to communicate that understanding to others‖(Pearson
Education)

“Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem.It may be

understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically‖(Sivasubramaiyan).

Research Design

Type of Research Design- Descriptive Research Design

Descriptive research was chosen for this project as it includes surveys and fact finding enquiries
of different kinds. It describes the state of affairs as it exists at present. The main characteristic of
this
method is that the researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has
happened or what is happening.

Sampling Size:
The sample size chosen for the project is fifty.

Technique of Sampling

Convenience Sampling:
The respondents for this survey were selected on the basis of their availability, such that their
work routine was not affected.

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Limitations of the Study
Few of the workers were unwilling to spare time to answer the questionnaire. Few others feared
answering questions straightforwardly. The study purely for academic purpose and is not an
exhaustive one.

Source of Data Collection

The source of data collection was the survey questionnaire which consists of 15 questions that
were projected towards the workers. The questionnaire used for the survey was customized to
find out the extent of absenteeism prevailing at the organization and the causes of the same ,
within the framework of standard employee absenteeism parameters.

The aspects considered for the study were:

 Experience of the worker in the company

 The workers opinion about the work performed

 If the workers are able to balance their personal and professional life

 To find the main reason behind absenteeism

 The workers opinion on the effect of absenteeism

 Ability to reach work on time

 If the company is able to provide adequate number of leaves

 Workers suggestions to reduce absenteeism

 The feeling of the worker joining work after taking a leave

 Feasibility of getting to work

 Opinion about the Absenteeism policy at TAFE

Each questionnaire was distributed to 50 workers and each question consisted multiple
choice answers.

15
Graphical representation of the findings

Q3. Years of experience at TAFE

The frequency distribution of respondents according to the responses is given below along with
it‘s bar graph.

Years of experience at TAFE

0-1 Year NIL

2-3 Years NIL

3-5 Years 2%

More than 5 Years 98%

Interpretation-

 Among the 50 workers who answered the questionnaire, only one person had an
experience of working at TAFE for 3-5 years. The rest of the 49 workers have worked
there for more than 5 years

 Around 2% of the workers taken for survey have worked for 3-5 years at TAFE.

 98% of the workers have worked for more than 5 years.

16
 Q4.Workers opinion about the job

Opinion about the work

Heavy workload 22%

Long Hours 20%

Manageable 58%

Interpretation-

 22% of the workers commented that there is heavy workload

 While 20% of the workers commented that there exist long hours of work

 58% of the workers said that they have manageable workload

Q5. On an average, how often the worker remain absent in a month

None 16%

Once or twice a month 52%

More than 2 days 32%

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Interpretation-

 16% of the workers commented that they don‘t take any leaves

 52% of the workers commented that they take around 1 or 2 days of leave, whereas 32%
of the workers said that they take leave for more than 2 days

Q6. If the worker is able to balance his personal and professional life (Work life balance)

Yes, able to balance 72%

No, Not able to balance 28%

18
 t

Interpretation

 Around 72% of the workers chose the option that they are able yes, the worker is able to
balance

 Whereas 28% of the workers commented that there is a lack of work life balance

Q7. According to the worker, what are the main reasons behind absenteeism?

Health issues 25%

Stress 30%
Family problems 15%

Lack of work life balance 25%

Religious Reasons 5%

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Interpretation

 Around 25% of the workers commented that the main reason absenteeism is health issues
 While 30% of the workers commented that it is due to the work stress that leads to
absenteeism in the organization

 15% of the workers said that it is due to family problems and worries that leads to
absenteeism

 While 25% of the workers commented that it is due to lack of work life balance that they
tend to take leaves from work

 5% said that due to religious reasons they take off from work

20
Q8. If the workers are able to reach work on time

Yes 86%
No 14%

Interpretation-

 Around 86% of the workers commented that they are able to reach work on time, whereas
14% of the workers said that they are not able to reach work on time.

Q9. According to the worker, what are the effects of absenteeism?

Causes work stress 40%

Delayed performance 40%

Overtime 18%

Others 2%

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Interpretation

 According to 40 % of workers , the main effect is that absenteeism induces work stress
for other workers

 According to another set of 40% of workers, absenteeism causes delayed work

performance

 18% of the workers commented that absenteeism leads to Overtime

 2% of the workers believe that there are some other effects of absenteeism

Q10. If the company provides adequate number of leaves to the workers

Yes 90%

No 10%

22
Interpretation

 10% of the workers commented that they do not get adequate number of leaves whereas
90% of the workers commented that they get enough number of leaves.

Q11. Worker‘s suggestions to reduce absenteeism

23
 Adopt job rotation 34%

Job enrichment opportunities 10%

Increase coordination 22%

Efficient superiors 34%

Interpretation

 34% of the workers suggested that through job rotation absenteeism can be reduced

 10% of the workers commented that through job enrichment opportunities absenteeism
can be reduced
 22% of the workers said that through increased coordination absenteeism can be reduced

 34% of the workers commented that through efficient superiors, absenteeism can be
reduced

Q12.How does the worker feel joining work after taking a leave

Feels refreshed 56%

Feeling of fear 4%

Mixed emotions 38%

Feels monotonous 2%

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Interpretation-

 After taking leave around 56% of the workers feel refreshed.

 Around 4% of the workers have a feeling of fear.

 Around 38% of the workers commented that they have a sense of mixed emotions.

 Around 2% of the workers feel monotonous.

Q13. Convenience to work

Convenient 86%

Not convenient 14%

Interpretation

 86% of the workers commented that they find it convenient to get to work

 14% of the workers commented that they do not find it convenient to get to work

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Q14.Views of the workers on the Absenteeism Policy at TAFE

Excellent 32%

Good 32%

Fair 30%

Don‘t know 6%

26
Interpretation

 Around 32% of the workers believe that the absenteeism policies are excellent at TAFE.

 About 32% of the workers believe that the absenteeism policies are good at TAFE.

 Around 30% of the workers commented that the Absenteeism policies are fair at TAFE

 6% of the workers commented that they do not have any knowledge about the policies
regarding absenteeism

Main Findings:
 It has been noticed that only 1 out of the 50 workers taken for the survey have work
experience in TAFE for less than 5 years. Which means that 98% of the workers have
been working at TAFE for more than 5 years indicating that some workers still tend to
stick to the job because of the satisfaction that the work provides.

 It has been inferred that the workers are mostly given manageable workload

 Majority of the workers commented that they have a work life balance where they are
able to balance their personal and professional life

 Majority of the workers take at least 1 or 2 days off from work in a month

 The main reason behind absenteeism is the stress that the worker faces in day to day basis

 Most of the workers commented that they are able to reach work on time

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  By adapting job rotation and by having efficient superiors, the workers suggested that
absenteeism can be reduced.

 Around majority of the workers feel refreshed joining after a leave.

 Most of the workers at TAFE believe that the Absenteeism policy at TAFE is
excellent/good.

Conclusion and Suggestions

 The researcher was able to understand that the main reason as to why the workers are
absent from work was to due to stress or due to health problems

 However, the researcher was surprised to find out that majority of workers feel refreshed
coming to work after taking a leave, which shows their commitment towards the
organization

 Also with the data analyzed, it has been understood by the researchers that if the
organization adopts more job rotation and deploy more efficient supervisors, it may help
in reducing absenteeism

 For workers who do not find it convenient coming to work, some kind of alternates can
be arranged by the organization.

 The workers seems to be happy and satisfied with the existing absenteeism policies
where they have commented that they get enough and more leaves as per their request

 Therefore, as per the study, most of the workers do not face much problems in availing
leaves and they are able to manage their personal and professional lives. It was also

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 noticed by the researcher that the organization is very much worker friendly and values
the satisfaction and addresses the needs of the workers.

 Since many of the workers have been working for more than 20 years indicating that it is
due to the health problems that comes with age which leads to absenteeism for majority
of the workers .

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