In this struggling economy – and let’s face it, many of us don’t need talking heads in Washington to tell us what is going on; we are on the ground and we see it all around us – it seems that companies have had to reduce their staffs, and they are running on thinner margins than ever in order to remain competitive in the marketplace, which has gotten smaller due to the smaller workforce and fewer people picking up paychecks.

And there is certainly a risk with employers, especially small businesses of, say, 250 employees or less. After all, with small businesses, many times a single employee has to wear multiple hats in order to keep the business going. And the hat rick gets even more full when companies have to lay off workers due to falling profits. And in that environment, the threat of absenteeis among workers is very real – and if not handled effecively, could be a fatal death knell for many small companies.  It is estimated that absenteeism in the U.S. workplace costs employers about $85 billion each year is lost productivity and morale. Why? Let’s look at it from a 30,ooo-foot viewpoint.

[Photo courtesy of DeviantArt.com via a Creative Commons license]Is this what productivity in your office feels like when an employee is out for an extended period of time? You might have an absenteeism problem which could be sucking your margins dry.

In any business, an employee has value according to the work he or she does and the skill with which he or she does it. In today’s world for smaller, have-to-be-more efficient workplaces, if an employee goes absent for a period of time due to extended sickness or seriosu injury, theother employees who already have a lot of their plates, now have to step up and do more to cover for the absent employee. In this scenario, the employees who might be already stretched to their limits may then feel overwhelmed and lose their morale. When they do that, they tend to dread or resent going to work, and when they don’t enjoy their work they tend to take shortcuts with their health and safety and that could raise the risk of yet another employee being out of action for a while due to some injury that could have been prevented. Can you see how the dominoes might fall?

Another option is to hire a temporary employee to fill in for the absent worker. While that essentially keeps the office staffed at the level it was before thd employee went home, chances are decent that the temp worker is not as skilled at everything the employee was, and may only be able to compensate certain areas.  And on top of that, often a company  canot spend the time or resources  getting the temp up to speed on policies, proeducres and the safety program that might be in place, so there is a risk there that the temp worker could even get in trouble and not be an adequate stand-in.

Sometimes it goes that an employee’s value is not realized until that employee is gone. But don’t let an employee’s absence determine for you how much that employee is worth.

Did you know that the direct cost to employers to replace an absent worker would be as high as 60 percent of that absent worker’s salary? Can you imagine a $50,000-per-year emplyee that you are paying, but during the time heis gone you are paying upwards of another $30,000 to replace that worker during the absence? Could you understand, as a small-business owner, how important it is to keep yoru employees safe and healthy so they are at work most of the time?

Did you know that hypertension (or excessive stress) can be a significant factor in absenteeism? Think back to that scenario earlier. If workers are already doing a lot and then are asked to do more because of an absent employee, can you imagine the possibility of increasing stress on the working employees might further increase the risk of other employees being absent for a period of time? And the costs mentioned earlier – can your company afford to pay the equivalent of $80,000 a year to replace every $50,000 employee who is out of the office?

Margins are not that large, folks.

What to do? Well, first, take a look at your current situation with your employees. If you think absenteeism is a concern or may be at risk in the future, come back to this space and look to my next post, which will discuss some possible solutions to help combat this important workplace issue.