Effects of Absenteeism in Nursing Profession

Abstract

Absenteeism might be a sign of management problems, like low employee morale or a toxic workplace. The nurses' frequent absences from work ultimately have an impact on the hospitals' ability to deliver high-quality treatment due to the workload placed on the other personnel. Objective: To find out the effects of absenteeism in nursing profession. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at DHQ Hospital Muzaffargarh. The population of current study was 120 registered nurses working in different wards of hospital. The inclusion criteria of currents study were the nurses having at least 1-year experience and have permanent job in hospital. Data were collected through structured questionnaire. It has two parts. 1st part consisted of demographic information and 2nd part consisted of factors contributing to absenteeism. Data were entered and analyzed by using SPSS 25.0. Results: Total 120 nurses were enrolled in current study the mean age of participants were 41.0±3.24 and they had 3.2±2.21 years of experience. Majority of nurses were females (103) and married (87) and lived in rural area (86). The most common factor of absenteeism in increased work load 52(43.3%), managerial issues 51(42.5%), lack of motivation 47(39.1%), favoritism among nurse’s staff by higher authorities 44(36.6%) and not willing to accept allocated duties 39(32.5%). Conclusions: The main reasons for absence, according to a recent research, are lack of interest, high workload, stress, and family issues. By addressing staff members' issues, nurse managers can lower absenteeism.