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Absenteeism in a selected service call centre in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Author(s)
Kaniaru, Evelyn Wanjiku
Date Issued
2020
Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Abstract
Absenteeism is a chronic problem that militates against consistency in any
organisation’s quality of service, reputation and productivity. It is imperative that
businesses should implement appropriate interventions to avert the associated
negative consequences.
Organisations with a reliable workforce deliver optimal, high-quality service to clients,
with no exception. Service call centres strive to meet clients’ requests effectively and
efficiently. If this is achieved, a positive reputation and productivity are factors that
influence the organisation’s bottom line.
Absenteeism is an issue that affects service call centres, both the business and its
employees. This has dire consequences if not curbed appropriately and timeously. The
annual sickness rate at the company under study was excessive and the Employee
Assistance Programme (EAP) was a strategy intended to mitigate high levels of
absenteeism at the service call centre. Despite the availability of the EAP, absenteeism
statistics continued to increase. The investigation intended to measure the relationship
between absenteeism and utilisation of the EAP at a service call centre in Cape Town
in the Western Cape, South Africa.
An online Likert scale questionnaire survey measured the relationship between
absenteeism and the EAP, and received 109 responses. The participants comprised
call centre representatives and management. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis
assessed the collected data, with validity and reliability measured through Cronbach’s
alpha.
Respondents in the study accounted for 98.16%, of which 64% work in a rotational
shift schedule as it is a 24/7 call centre. Illness was identified as the main factor for
absenteeism, with 67%, followed by stress, which accounted for 7.3%, despite the fact
that stress is strongly associated with service call centres and call centre work
environments. Promotion of the EAP is active, as the organisation uses nine methods
in this respect. The customer service representatives (CSR) are aware of the EAP in
the organisation as it was reported by <65% of the respondents. The respondents reported that management was the least method used to
communicate the EAP. In addition, it was unknown that the EAP was implemented to
reduce absenteeism by the CSRs, which accounted for <46%. Hence, it was deduced
that there is a strong relationship between absenteeism and utilisation of the EAP in
the call centre; however, with a 9% variation. Integrated results deduced that high
absenteeism in the service call centre is not as a result of non-utilisation of the EAP.
Absenteeism is inevitable in any work environment. EAPs are implemented mainly to
improve productivity and employee effectiveness, and to curb absenteeism. Effective
awareness of EAP promotes utilisation of the programme, which improves employee
well-being. This has a positive impact on employees’ work creativity, performance, and
the organisation’s bottom line. Effective communication on the programme’s objectives
and implementation is imperative, and management should be at the forefront of this.
This creates a sense of compassion and caring for the welfare of employees and
should increase the use the EAP and result in a decline in absenteeism.
organisation’s quality of service, reputation and productivity. It is imperative that
businesses should implement appropriate interventions to avert the associated
negative consequences.
Organisations with a reliable workforce deliver optimal, high-quality service to clients,
with no exception. Service call centres strive to meet clients’ requests effectively and
efficiently. If this is achieved, a positive reputation and productivity are factors that
influence the organisation’s bottom line.
Absenteeism is an issue that affects service call centres, both the business and its
employees. This has dire consequences if not curbed appropriately and timeously. The
annual sickness rate at the company under study was excessive and the Employee
Assistance Programme (EAP) was a strategy intended to mitigate high levels of
absenteeism at the service call centre. Despite the availability of the EAP, absenteeism
statistics continued to increase. The investigation intended to measure the relationship
between absenteeism and utilisation of the EAP at a service call centre in Cape Town
in the Western Cape, South Africa.
An online Likert scale questionnaire survey measured the relationship between
absenteeism and the EAP, and received 109 responses. The participants comprised
call centre representatives and management. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis
assessed the collected data, with validity and reliability measured through Cronbach’s
alpha.
Respondents in the study accounted for 98.16%, of which 64% work in a rotational
shift schedule as it is a 24/7 call centre. Illness was identified as the main factor for
absenteeism, with 67%, followed by stress, which accounted for 7.3%, despite the fact
that stress is strongly associated with service call centres and call centre work
environments. Promotion of the EAP is active, as the organisation uses nine methods
in this respect. The customer service representatives (CSR) are aware of the EAP in
the organisation as it was reported by <65% of the respondents. The respondents reported that management was the least method used to
communicate the EAP. In addition, it was unknown that the EAP was implemented to
reduce absenteeism by the CSRs, which accounted for <46%. Hence, it was deduced
that there is a strong relationship between absenteeism and utilisation of the EAP in
the call centre; however, with a 9% variation. Integrated results deduced that high
absenteeism in the service call centre is not as a result of non-utilisation of the EAP.
Absenteeism is inevitable in any work environment. EAPs are implemented mainly to
improve productivity and employee effectiveness, and to curb absenteeism. Effective
awareness of EAP promotes utilisation of the programme, which improves employee
well-being. This has a positive impact on employees’ work creativity, performance, and
the organisation’s bottom line. Effective communication on the programme’s objectives
and implementation is imperative, and management should be at the forefront of this.
This creates a sense of compassion and caring for the welfare of employees and
should increase the use the EAP and result in a decline in absenteeism.
Additional information
Thesis (MTech (Human Resource Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2020
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