How to Reduce Absenteeism in the Workplace: 7 Practical Steps

Absenteeism describes an employee who is regularly and habitually absent from work. This is different from paid leave, or approved time off.  You usually spot absenteeism when repeated absences have no clear reason.
 
Everyone takes sick leave from time to time. Excessive absenteeism, however, costs money and can lower productivity and engagement.
 
Absenteeism can have many causes Employees may be dealing with personal problems or mental health issues. However, in other cases, patterns point to wider problems across the organisation.

The Government’s Keep Britain Working review estimates that poor workplace health costs UK employers around £85 billion a year, including £47 billion in lost output from sickness absence and £21 billion in lost productivity from employees working while unwell. The remaining costs include sick pay and costs associated with staff turnover, conflict and recruitment.

Many people work through illness rather than take sick leave. That matters because lower productivity drives most of the rise in sickness costs. A summer 2026 survey of 2,003 UK adults, commissioned by Vista Health, found that 49% of workers had continued working while unwell, doing so for an average of six days.

Low absence does not always mean a healthy workplace. Some organisations with low absence have a presenteeism problem (people working while ill) or a leaveism problem (people working on annual leave).

The financial impacts of absenteeism vary depending on how you pay staff. You'll keep paying sick leave for each salaried employee who's off. If you pay hourly staff, you may need to hire cover or outsource the work.

Absenteeism also affects your business in other ways:

• Reduction in productivity: Absence removes the employee's own output, and colleagues often pick up the extra work.. This can also affect the quality of work done through understaffing or lead to the need to stop certain jobs if they cannot be completed without the missing employee.
• More admin: Tracking absence and finding cover takes time from HR and line managers, leaving less time for other work
• Health and safety risks: the safety of other staff members may be threatened if the absent employee is a key part of a team, such as in construction or a warehousing environment.
• Lower engagement and poor work quality: depending on the underlying causes of absenteeism,an employee who is regularly absent is going to be less engaged when they are at work, making them potentially less efficient and more likely to make mistakes. That can strain your quality control and harm your reputation with customers.
• Retention and hiring: Poor working conditions and high stress can drive both absence and turnover. That can also weaken your employer brand and deter candidates.
• Longer-term absences: if the underlying causes of absenteeism are not addressed, organisations risk having to deal with long-term sickness absences.

The underlying causes of habitual absence can be hard to pinpoint. Organisations with absenteeism problems may also have cultural challenges with communication, wellbeing or with line-manager skills and competencies to appropriately support and make adjustments for employees. Implementing an open-door policy can be an effective strategy for maintaining healthy communication regarding employer expectations.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that work-related ill health and injuries caused 40.1 million lost working days in 2024/25.

Some of the most common causes of absenteeism are:

• Minor illness (includes colds, flu, stomach upsets and headaches): Minor illness is the top cause of short-term absence, according to the CIPD's 2025 survey. Many people, however, give a general illness as their reason rather than the real cause.
• Stress, burnout and mental health:  HSE data shows that mental health conditions were the main driver of work-related ill health in 2024/25, affecting 964,000 workers. Many people give another reason for their absence, so your records may understate the true picture. Stress and burnout affects all industries. Retail and hospitality often have high turnover and irregular shifts, which can make absence harder to manage. Addressing these requires sector-specific strategies that go beyond generic HR approaches. Access our actionable guide to navigating HR tech challenges to discover practical  ideasfor modernising operations, implementing effective recruitment tactics, and developing strategic workforce planning for manufacturing and retail sectors.

The CIPD's 2025 survey found that mental ill health is the top cause of long-term absence, cited by 41% of respondents.  A quarter of UK workers say their job has harmed their mental health, according to the CIPD's Good Work Index 2025. Heavy workloads and management style are common causes of stress-related absence.

Negative working cultures can contribute towards excessive absenteeism too; unrealistic workloads, poor working environments, lack of recognition and inadequate support for wellbeing could all be part of a wider problem of absenteeism.

• Musculoskeletal injuries: Injuries and back pain follow stress as a top reason for work-related illnesses and days lost to absence. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this kind of illness is more typical in industries that involve manual work but have increased in desk-based workers since homeworking was driven by the pandemic.
• Bullying and harassment: avoiding negative work environments can be a reason for many to call in sick long-term.
• Long-term medical conditions: this could be related to physical or mental health and some employees may not want to speak to their manager to disclose these things.
• Caring responsibilities: without appropriate flexible working allowances, an employee may be regularly absent due to having to look after an elderly relative or dependent child, or when their normal arrangements fall through.
• Bereavement: having time off to deal with a loss is common and most organisations offer a set time of paid bereavement leave. However, there’s no set timescale on grief and employees dealing with the death of a loved one are likely going to feel the effects for a long-time.
• Lack of inclusion of the diverse workforce: You may have a diverse workforce on paper. Without proper support for inclusion, people can feel stressed and anxious, which can lead to absence.
• Lack of meaningful work and disengagement: When people don't feel valued in their role, they become less engaged and less productive. They may also start staying away from work. Feeling unrecognised by their team or manager can have the same effect.

1. Review your absence management strategy

An effective absence management strategy forms a clear action plan for absenteeism at work, outlining how it will be measured and monitored.  Tell employees about the policy and apply it consistently. That helps deter unnecessary absence.  You can use the Bradford Factor to calculate absence scores and flag patterns. Once you spot a pattern, you can act on it.

Different types of absences will require a different HR response. If a certain type of leave is more prevalent in your workforce, adjust your absence management strategy to address that.

2. Support and improve employee mental health and wellbeing in the workplace

Introducing or reviewing your wellbeing strategy and employee assistance programme (EAP) can help reduce absenteeism.

Deloitte research found that for every £1 spent on supporting employees’ mental health, employers would get £5 back on their investment in reductions in presenteeism, absenteeism and staff turnover.  As organisations face increasing pressure from National Insurance and wage increases, strategic employee benefits programmes can help offset these costs whilst simultaneously reducing absenteeism.  Salary sacrifice schemes can reduce employer National Insurance costs.

CIPD's 2025 survey found that 75% of organisations are taking some action to improve wellbeing, but more can be done to prevent ill health.

Two practical starting points are access to counselling and training for line managers. Both can help people manage stress before it leads to absence. Also encourage your people to use their annual leave, because time off helps prevent burnout.

The Vitality Health at Work study reported that 75% of organisations said early interventions and initiatives to support wellbeing had had a positive impact on their people’s health and Deloitte found that investing in pre-emptive wellbeing interventions achieved higher returns than those that were brought in later when individuals were already struggling.

3. Carry out return-to-work interviews

Coming back to work even after a day or two off can be daunting.   You may have missed changes at work, and personal challenges can make the return harder.

A good return-to-work interview can help prevent future absence. Use it to create a safe space for the employee to discuss personal or work life issues.

The interview shows your people that you care about their wellbeing. It also helps you find the cause of the absence.

Ask what would help them return. If the cause is stress, ask what would ease the pressure. If their workload is too much, share it across the team or hire temporary support.

If you do hire someone else to fill an employee’s workload make sure you follow the hiring steps using our guide.

4. Address health and safety

If back pain or injuries drive your absence, check the following.

First, make sure employees have the right equipment. Desk-based staff with back problems should have tools to support their posture, such as an ergonomic keyboard or an adapted chair. Back problems have grown as more people work from home or share desks.

Second, review how employees' working spaces change over time. Then check that you have the budget to fund any changes.

Finally, frontline employees who lift heavy loads or operate machinery need mandatory health and safety training, with regular refreshers.

5. Explore more flexible working options

If childcare or other care needs drive absence, better flexible working policies may help you reduce absenteeism.

Research by Catalyst found that employees with access to remote-work options were 75% more likely to report being often or always engaged and 68% more likely to report high organisational commitment. They were also 26% less likely to experience workplace burnout and 30% less likely to intend to leave their organisation within the next year. Catalyst’s research also associates remote-work access with benefits including productivity, innovation and inclusion.

6. Support for inclusion

Employees who don't feel included can become anxious and stressed, which can lead to absence. A diverse board does not make an organisation inclusive on its own. Unconscious bias and childcare barriers can still leave people feeling excluded. Consider each person's needs so they can contribute fully.

7. Proactive intervention

Don’t wait for absence to become a recurring problem. Train managers to spot the warning signs, such as changes in behaviour or engagement.

When an employee has ongoing health issues, occupational health services can offer expert advice on adjustments or a phased return to work. For those with recurring absences due to legitimate reasons, individualised support plans can be created with their line manager. It might include changed duties or flexible hours.