Write a brief about Impunctuality and Non-Attendance Employment Relations

Introduction

Employee punctuality and attendance has considerable implications on the workplace as it directly influences the overall organisational effectiveness and productivity. There is a growing focus among business managers to impart the motto of 'Early Is On Time, On Time Is Late, and Late Is Unacceptable!' among their employees. Due to the negative impact of habitual impunctuality on the co-workers and the organisation’s performance, business leaders have begun to promote the benefits of punctuality in the workplace by setting it as one of their personal values (Dundon & Rollinson, 2011). In this backdrop, this research report analyses the impact of impunctuality and non-attendance in the workplace with respect to employee relations.

According to the Direct Health Solution (2016) Absence Management and Wellbeing Survey Report, absenteeism levels in Australia have reached 9.5 days per year which costs on an average $3608 per worker annually for employers. Further, indirect costs include replacement labour, lost productivity, and increased risk raises the absenteeism cost up to 8% of the total payroll costs.  Also, the lateness to a job has an adverse impact on task scheduling, outcomes and the quality of service in an organisation which is highly likely to create economic losses (Dafiaghor, 2011). In this report, the definition of the issue, its emergence and significance for an organisation, its manifestations in employee relations, the potential causes, its impact in the workplace and society and its implications for management and employee relations are explored.

Issues of Impunctuality and Non-Attendance in Employee Relations

The productivity of employees partly depends on their commitment to the job and organisation. Lack of commitment gives rise to employee behaviour which negatively impacts business outcomes and profitability (Mowday, Porter, & Steers, 2013). One of the major factors of employee impunctuality and non-attendance is lateness to work.  From the economists' point of view, arriving late for work is a rational choice of an employee by weighing the costs and benefits associated with the alternative use of time (Clark, Peters, & Tomlinson, 2005). In terms of industrial psychology, lateness focuses on employee attitude towards the workplace, especially job satisfaction. Employee lateness is the later time an employee chooses to start the work after the scheduled commencement as mutually agreed to by the employee and employer. 

Avoidable lateness of an employee is self-controlled and includes the activities which are carried out rather than being on time for work (Veenstra, 2015). Such activities include sleeping or reading newspapers or magazines and chatting with co-workers in the break- room. Unavoidable lateness is based on the circumstances, and it is less controllable factors such as late trains, bad weather, and illness. Although lateness arises from unavoidable factors, those are difficult to be controlled and usually result in the employer forgiving given the minimal occurrence of such incidences. Instances of avoidable lateness are considered as a hindrance for operations and an unnecessary cost for the company to be eliminated.

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