Identifisering av faktorer som forårsaker sykefravær i produksjonsbedrifter og tiltak

Abstract

This thesis will analyze of some the root causes and potential solutions management can implement for improving employee absenteeism due to sickness. The analytical data for this thesis has been collected from ABC from the period 2018-2020 as a case study for this issue to illustrate the topic in question. The data ranges from quantitative figures collected over the studied period to qualitative interviews with individuals in different departments ranging from machine operators to managerial positions. Theoretical and empirical models used in this thesis such as the JDR-model and other relevant research and empirical evidence will be used to explore and explain the findings presented later in the thesis and will be based on similar research conducted in the area. During the period 2018-2019 ABC experienced growth in absenteeism due to sickness to the level of two to three times the Norwegian national average in manufacturing businesses and had reached a point where they could not ignore the worrying growth trend. An in-depth analysis for potential underlying causes for their sickness absenteeism and ways to properly respond to it will be the focus of this thesis. Interestingly the original hypothesis at the start of the thesis and subsequent early predictions were not confirmed, and additional analysis conducted provided a critical turn. From working under the assumption that there were managerial or culture issues causing ABCs employees undue stress and/or unobtainable goals it was soon revealed that what ABC was in fact experiencing was not unlike the rest of the industry, at least in terms of sickness absence. Findings throughout the research done will point to ABCs reporting methods that were inadvertently inflating their sickness absence numbers to a point where it seemed that ABC had some of the highest absenteeism due to sickness in the country. The identifying key to the overlying issue was to question the data used for the reporting. Analyzing the data and considering external factors that affect that data is an important step before reporting the data. In the case of ABC and this thesis the major difference was analytics, in that the numbers where not only accepted on their face value but questioned and subsequently analyzed for root causes.