Factors affecting absenteeism at Arcelormittal South Africa

Abstract

Abstract : ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) is the largest steel producer on the African continent and employs more than 9000 permanent employees. The company’s head office is in Vanderbijlpark and it has operations in Vereeniging, Saldanha, Newcastle, and Pretoria. The company is experiencing high levels of absenteeism; within the range of 4% annually. This costs millions of Rands due to hiring replacement labour and existing employees having to work overtime, among other costs and interventions that management implement as they try to maintain continuous productivity and avoid service disruption. The study, therefore, examined the factors that are affecting absenteeism at AMSA. The effect of demographic factors such as age, gender, qualifications, marital status and the number of dependents, organisational tenure and current job level was also assessed. Extensive literature on the subject of absenteeism was outlined and reviewed. The study adopted a cross-sectional study and a total of 321 permanent employees completed the structured questionnaires as part of the survey. The data collected was analysed and the findings revealed that personal issues and supervision factors were the main contributors to absenteeism within the organisation. There were significant differences between variables on aspects such as number of dependents and current job level, amongst others, in relation to absenteeism. Some of the key findings were that sick leave was the most utilised leave type in 2018. In order to try to reduce absenteeism, the study assisted with identifying absenteeism interventions that can be adopted, such as creating a more positive company culture, offering attendance incentives, improving the working conditions and implementing disciplinary actions. Managerial implications for the organisation also included providing flexible working arrangements for the employees, improving remuneration of employees and maintaining discipline through disciplinary actions against to transgressors. Another lesson from the study that companies and other stakeholders can learn from is that the soft approaches to absenteeism management are more preferred than the hard approaches to maintaining absenteeism discipline within the organisation. Overall, the study revealed the causes of absenteeism and also provided a basis for actions for AMSA to adopt in order to reduce absenteeism.M.Com. (Business Management