absenteeism

noun ab·sen·tee·ism \ ˌab-sən-ˈtē-ˌi-zəm \

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Definition of absenteeism

1 : prolonged absence of an owner from his or her property

2 : chronic absence (as from work or school); also : the rate of such absence

See absenteeism defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of absenteeism from the Web

According to data from the World Bank, rates of teacher absenteeism in developing countries range from 11% to 30%.

— The Economist, "Universal lessons," 5 July 2018
For the 2016-2017 school year, Howard County had the lowest rate of chronic student absenteeism in the state, under 10 percent, according to data from the State Department of Education.

— jess nocera, Howard County Times, "Howard school absentee rate is lowest in Maryland," 22 June 2018
Health insurer Humana, a client since 2015 for which Exos manages 10 fitness centers, says the partnership has decreased absenteeism and become part of its strategy to keep top employees in the fold.

— phil wahba, Fortune, "How Exos Is Designing High-Tech Fitness Programs for Couch Potatoes," 22 June 2018
While Colombian elections have long had huge percentages of absenteeism, this year, more than 50% of qualified voters cast their vote, a record for the past several decades and an indicator of how important these elections are.

— leila cobo, Billboard, "Carlos Vives, Sebastian Yatra & More Strike Measured Tone On Twitter During Contentious Colombian Elections," 28 May 2018
In the three case files reviewed by The Courant, and in case after case examined by the child advocate, parents were under increasing pressure by DCF to explain a child’s chronic absenteeism from school.

— josh kovner, courant.com, "Hundreds Of Connecticut Children Home Schooled In Households Where Abuse, Neglect Suspected," 26 Apr. 2018
Anacostia High School, a neighborhood school in Southeast Washington with a significant proportion of students from low-income families, also had high absenteeism.

— perry stein, Washington Post, "It’s not just Ballou: Schools across D.C. are graduating students who were chronically absent," 19 Jan. 2018
His absenteeism rate shot from nonexistent up to 10 percent as his new employees skipped work for drug court, anger management classes and appointments with their probation and parole officers.

— tracy jan, chicagotribune.com, "GOP lawmakers have gone quiet on this popular tool to curb illegal immigration," 22 May 2018
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority canceled more bus rides than anticipated in 2017, which the agency says is due to an uptick in driver absenteeism.

— adam vaccaro, BostonGlobe.com, "These are the MBTA bus routes that had the most canceled trips in 2016," 6 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'absenteeism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of absenteeism

absentee + -ism

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1829

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

Financial Definition of ABSENTEEISM

absenteeism

noun

What It Is

In the business world, absenteeism refers to the rate at which employees do not arrive for work as scheduled.

How It Works

Company XYZ is a health care provider. It has 25 nurses who are each responsible for seeing 10 patients a day. Every day, one or two nurses are not at work due to vacation or sickness. However, in the past month absenteeism has risen. Now, four or five nurses are often missing for the day, putting a severe strain on the nurses who do come to work, increasing the wait times for patients, and increasing the number of medical errors the nurses are making.

Why It Matters

Absenteeism increases costs and lowers profits because it reduces productivity and often work quality. A similar problem, presenteeism, occurs when employees choose to stay at work but handle personal and family issues at their desks rather than working. Many forms of absenteeism are protected by law (such as family leave under FMLA). Often, however, absenteeism can increase when workers feel stressed. U.S. companies lose billions due to chronic employee absenteeism.

Source: Investing Answers