Perceived Factors Contributing to Employee Absenteeism at Kenya Ports Authority

Abstract

Absenteeism is a major problem faced by almost all employers of today. It places huge financial burdens on organizations and has a detrimental effect on productivity and performance. Although researchers have attempted to identify the factors that cause, or are related to absenteeism so that appropriate solutions can be developed, little research has been done to determine the factors from the point of view of the staff themselves. As a result, the purpose of the study was to determine the perceived factors that contribute to employee absenteeism in Kenya Ports Authority. A descriptive research design was adopted and survey method was used to solicit information. Purposive sampling was first adopted as the study was interested in the staff working in Kenya Ports Authority in Mombasa Offices. In addition, stratified sampling was applied to establish the respondents of the study from every department. The study relied on a sample size of 80 staff members of Kenya Ports Authority and data was collected by the use of questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics with assistance of statistical package for social scientist (SPSS) and content analysis for qualitative data. The study found that 79% of the respondents indicated that Absenteeism is a problem in the organization. The reasons perceived by employees as contributing to absenteeism included drug abuse, family problems and lack of motivation. Some other reasons cited include, poor management style, injury and accident, organizational culture and lack or poor adherence to policy on absence. Employees were then asked to rate the importance of some of the factors causing absenteeism. The findings indicated that, under- promotion was perceived as fairly high followed by employee attitude and drug and substance abuse. Finally, the respondents were required to highlight changes they believed when implemented would help to reduce absenteeism among staff. Some of the mostly cited reasons included strict adherence to set down policies on absenteeism, counseling and rehabilitation of staff who have drug and substance problems, improved supervision of staff, fair treatment, motivation and recognition of staff and also rewarding of good attendance. The recommendations were therefore to adopt the four approaches to managing attendance as suggested by Bevan (2003) namely: management policy, managing long-term absence, preventative measures and rewarding attendance