Sick day policies exist to help ensure that workers are able to balance the needs of their work with taking care of themselves. However, not all employees use sick days when they are actually sick. It may be hard to tell when an employee is using a sick day to do something else, but if this type of behavior becomes routine and acceptable within your company, it has the potential to be damaging to the productivity of your workforce.
A Fast Company article draws attention to this issue, noting several examples of instances where employees may be tempted to tell lies in order to take the day off or to get out of doing something at work, for example, to watch popular sporting events. This may seem harmless enough, but according to Dana Manciagli, a job search coach, automated systems are making it more likely that employees will actually get caught in the lies they tell.
When an employee is caught lying about sick days, what should HR do?
The actions that HR should take to curb the instances of this happening will depend on what has been outlined in the company policy. When employees are first brought on board, they should be made aware of the policy and possible repercussions that may result from abusing it.
If an employee is caught lying repeatedly it may be time to consider taking action to correct the problem. There are many factors that could be contributing to repeated absences, including personal reasons or a lack of job satisfaction.
HR software solutions makes it possible to track and manage crucial employee details, like attendance, enabling HR departments to clearly see when it might be necessary to intervene and determine a solution to sick day abuse or frequent absenteeism.