Letter: Private sector has higher AWOL rate
A reader shares data from a private-sector survey that found a higher rate of unscheduled absences among employees than Coburn did for feds.
I note that the less than 1 percent "AWOL" rate of the federal workforce is considerably better than the 2.3 percent rate above.What do you think? Paste a comment in the box below (registration required), or send your comment to (subject line: Blog comment) and we'll post it.
Anonymous
letters@fcw.com
Regarding "Senator: Fed workers miss millions of hours": I thought Sen. Coburn might want to know what the private-sector unscheduled-absentee rate is. Please see excerpt from a CCH press release dated Oct. 10, 2007:
"According to the 2007 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey, conducted for CCH by Harris Interactive, the absenteeism rate was 2.3 percent in 2007, down slightly from 2.5 percent [the year before].
The CCH Survey also found that for many employers, it's no surprise when employees are likely to be no-shows. More than two-thirds (68 percent) report finding a discernable pattern in unscheduled absences, with 37 percent of organizations reporting the most noticeable pattern is people calling in sick on Mondays and Fridays, followed by 17 percent recognizing the most noticeable pattern occurring around holidays such as Christmas or the Fourth of July and 13 percent reporting their most noticeable pattern of unplanned absences occurs during flu and hay fever seasons.
The CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey, conducted by CCH for the past 17 years, is the definitive survey on absenteeism in the workplace, measuring the rate, cost and reasons associated with unscheduled absence in the U.S."
The CCH Survey also found that for many employers, it's no surprise when employees are likely to be no-shows. More than two-thirds (68 percent) report finding a discernable pattern in unscheduled absences, with 37 percent of organizations reporting the most noticeable pattern is people calling in sick on Mondays and Fridays, followed by 17 percent recognizing the most noticeable pattern occurring around holidays such as Christmas or the Fourth of July and 13 percent reporting their most noticeable pattern of unplanned absences occurs during flu and hay fever seasons.
The CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey, conducted by CCH for the past 17 years, is the definitive survey on absenteeism in the workplace, measuring the rate, cost and reasons associated with unscheduled absence in the U.S."
Anonymous
letters@fcw.com
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