Volume : 3 | Issue : 3 | March 2014 ISSN - 2250-1991 23 | PARIPEX - INDIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH Research Paper Employee Absenteeism in Education Sector of Assam—A Study Based on Employees of Private Colleges of Jorhat District Commerce Joy Bhattacharjee Research scholar, Department of Commerce, Dibrugarh Universi- ty, Dibrugarh, Assam KEYWORDS Employee, Absenteeism, Private, Colleges, Organisation. ABSTRACT Absenteeism is the failure of a worker to report for work when he is scheduled to work. Absenteeism affects adversely both the employees and employers and give rise to many industrial, labour and social problems. With the aim of identifying the causes and effects of employee absenteeism the present study has been carried on. The study is based on employees of private colleges of Jorhat District, Assam. The researcher has used both primary and secondary method of data collection. The study is a descriptive study with sample size 60. The researcher has used convenient sampling method. Finally the researcher has attempted to give some suggestions to reduce the absenteeism in the respective organization. Introduction: Absenteeism is the failure of a worker to report for work when he is scheduled to work. Absenteeism is one of the fac- tors affecting optimum utilization of human resources. It is an industrial malady affecting productivity, profts, investments and absentee workers themselves. As such, increasing rate of absence adds very considerably to the cost of industry and hampers industrial progress. The absence of a few workmen is an imposition on others, affects work scheduling and adds to costs that push the price of absenteeism far beyond one day’s salary. The economic and social losses occurring from absenteeism cannot be determined accurately. According to Seligman : “Absenteeism is time lost in industrial establishments by avoidable or unavoidable absence of em- ployees”. Prof. Ankalikr defned absenteeism as, “ unauthorized ab- sence of the worker from his job.” Prof. K.G. Fenelon defned absenteeism as the “ absence of worker when work is available.” Kinds of Absenteeism: 1. Escapist Absentee 2. Immature Absentee 3. Chronic Absentee 4. Casual absentee 5. Seasonal absentee Causes of Absenteeism The causes can be divided into personal causes and organisa- tion causes. The personal cause includes indebtedness, sick- ness and family problems on which the organization has very little control. Organizational causes include the following • Unsuitable working conditions • Unfavorable mental attitude arising out of boredom dis- content with wages, resentment against supervisors. • Lack of provision for general welfare. • Inadequate medical facilities • Increased psychological distance between management and workers, specifcally friction with supervisors. Review of literature: Rao V, Rani S.S (2012) conducted a study on employee absen- teeism in Sundaram Brake Lining Ltd, Chennai with the aim of identifying the reasons for absenteeism and its effects on productivity. The study focused on factors for absenteeism like quality of work life, policies regarding promotion, incentives, benefts etc. Khare S, Chaudhary V.K, (2013) conducted a study on em- ployee absenteeism in irone ore mines in Jabalpul, with the aim of identifying various habits of workers which are respon- sible for absenteeism. The outcome of the research shows that absenteeism affects the effciency, productivity and disci- plines of the organization. Saritha S.(2013) conducted a study on employee absenteeism on Sagar Sugars and Allied Products Ltd, Chittor(A.P) with the aim of identifying various reasons that leads to absenteeism and effects of such absenteeism. The study concluded that a combination of incentives and penalties with the primary emphasis on motivational incentives is the most effective ap- proach to reducing absenteeism. C. Swarnalata and G. Sureshkrishna (2013) conducted a study on absenteeism among employee in Automatic Industrie in In- dia. The study reveals that absenteeism is threat to the organi- zation as it reduces the employee satisfaction. Leblebici. D,(2012) conducted a study on impact of workplace quality on employees productivity. The study was conduct- ed in a foreign private bank in Turkey. The study reveals that employees dissatisfaction with the physical conditions of the workplace leads to absenteeism in the organization. Rationality of the Study: • The study will help the management to understand the reasons for employee absenteeism in their organizations. • This study will help the management to formulate plans and policies to reduce the employee absenteeism in their respective organization. • This study will help the employees to present their opinion about the organization. Scope of the Study: • The present study has been carried on with the employees of private junior colleges. • The present study is confned to Jorhat District, Assam. • The study covers only teaching staff. Objectives of the study • To identify the causes of employee absenteeism in the study area. • To identify the effects of employee absenteeism • To suggest the ways of reducing employee absenteeism in the concerned area.