Jobs done well key for city managers should be

London Free Press Fri, February 29, 2008

By IAN GILLESPIE, FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

Comedian Woody Allen once said, "Eighty per cent of success is showing up."

I guess they haven't heard that one at city hall.

Because, as The Free Press has learned, a lot of municipal workers aren't showing up for work: City employees reportedly miss an annual average of 18.5 days of work, with some staff punching out for up to 35 days a year (compared to the typical rate of 12 days).

When I first heard this news, I felt downright sympathetic. Because according to a study released by Ipsos-Reid in 2004, the main reasons for workplace absenteeism are depression, anxiety, stress and other mental-health disorders.

So like I said, I felt bad about all those poor, absent workers.

But then I talked to workplace researcher Chris Higgins and suggested that all those missing municipal employees must be terribly stressed, depressed and over-worked. Right?

"I don't believe that," said Higgins, a professor at UWO's Richard Ivey School of Business, who has studied workplace absenteeism. "I don't believe that for a second."

Was Higgins suggesting most absent workers are faking it?

Not quite.

He pointed out the vast majority of people rarely or never take a sick day -- unless they're really sick. Quite simply, most people go to work when they're supposed to.

But -- and this is a big but -- Higgins estimated about 80 per cent of the absentee problem is caused by about 20 per cent of workers. And they're pulling a fast one.

"Look at the days they take off -- Mondays and Fridays," he said. "At universities, you know when more people are sick than any other time? Exam days.

"It's the dead grandmother syndrome," he said. "More grandmothers 'die' during exams than at any other time of the year, because students don't want to write the exam."

Higgins said he can predict a company's absenteeism rate based on their sick-leave policies. If, for example, a company allows 10 sick days a year, many workers will be "sick" for exactly 10 days.

"The (absentee) pattern aligns with the policy of the organization," he explained.

"People know their rights . . . and will take the maximum allowed under the rules."

"And union people will almost always have higher absenteeism days than non-union people," Higgins said.

He noted workers who take off 30 or more sick days a year are likely dealing with legitimate chronic health problems.

"The people you have to worry about are the people taking between six and 15 days," he said. "Those are the people who are probably abusing the system."

According to Higgins, high rates of absenteeism almost always point to low morale.

"It just comes down to one thing: Do people care about their job? It's all about job commitment. The more committed you are to your job and your organization, the less likely you are to take days off."

And morale can plummet, he said, when workers don't feel they're part of a team, or feel unchallenged.

"If you've got a job with not a lot to do and you get bored, you think, 'Why do I need to come in?' "

For the record, city hall's online directory lists 32 people working in the city's human resources department, including two "staffing specialists" and two workers assigned to "rewards and recognition."

Of course, there's no quick and easy way to get employees to care about their work, although Higgins suggested linking incentives to performance, rather than seniority.

"Probably, city hall does not have a culture of caring," he said.

Maybe he's right and they don't care. But taxpayers do.

And I think it says a lot about the situation when, faced with high rates of absenteeism, the city decided to hire yet another human resources worker -- this one a "health and wellness specialist" responsible for "attendance promotion" -- at an annual salary paying up to nearly $72,000.

Instead of creating fancy new jobs, maybe city managers should make sure staff are doing the old jobs well.

Making sure they actually show up for work might be a good start.