The indirect cost of absence – infographic

Absence is a major cost to business but it can be hard to quantify just how much it costs. The total bill is partly made up of direct costs such as agency or overtime fees for replacement staff and sick pay, which are relatively easy to calculate. If you’d like to calculate your direct cost of absence, try our absence cost calculator.

The rest of absence costs are much harder to put a price tag on because they include things like staff and client retention, client satisfaction, penalties for missed SLAs, reduced productivity and, to a large extent, management time. We’ve analysed the time spent by an average manager of a team of 10 on absence-related tasks in this infographic. The results are staggering: an average manager spends 20 working days each year managing absence. 20 working days – or 1 calendar month – that could better be spent on more value-adding tasks if the absence level was lower.

Learn more about cost of absence and when you’re ready to reduce it, why not try Engage – it’s free for 30 days!