{"id":8348,"date":"2021-10-27T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beebole.com\/blog\/?p=8348"},"modified":"2025-08-28T16:50:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T14:50:51","slug":"calculate-employee-absence-rate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beebole.com\/blog\/calculate-employee-absence-rate","title":{"rendered":"How to calculate employee absence rate and why you should do it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Absence days in the workplace are prevalent regardless of schedule, sector, or level. It’s just another moving piece of HR and the working world. That’s why it’s essential to understand your employee absence rate<\/strong> and know how to calculate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you aware of the impact that absence days have in the workplace? Is your company or HR department calculating the employee absence rate correctly?<\/strong> Do you know how to tackle absenteeism<\/a> effectively? We’re going to dive into some of those questions and provide formulas to help you begin optimizing your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is the cost of absence often misunderstood or neglected?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the dramatic evidence that exists regarding the large scale costs of absenteeism and presenteeism<\/a> in the workplace, many companies still misunderstand and neglect these costs. Moreover, this attitude has almost nothing to do with using tools or software. Then, why are so many businesses lost when it comes to absence management?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a couple of reasons for this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, a lot of companies, especially small ones, don’t understand how to deal with absence days. As explained by HR consultant Lucy Fitzgerald<\/a>, this “is probably due to competing priorities and a lack of knowledge in dealing with such situations, especially if the business owner knows the employee well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, many companies simply fear change. Having high levels of absenteeism is an open invitation to changing your work culture. The problem with that is that many companies are not willing to challenge their ways of doing business as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your company or HR department isn’t doing anything regarding absence management, it’s quite likely one of the two reasons above resonated with you. But two critical questions remain\u2014why should you monitor your absence rates, and how can you do it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n <\/svg>\n\n \n \n <\/svg>\n\n

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Navteca<\/strong>, a technology services company working with NASA and other federal agencies, needed a time tracking solution that went beyond just logging hours. For them, staying compliant with government requirements meant being able to track, report, and justify every absence, project allocation, and labor cost with precision<\/strong>. Spreadsheets simply couldn\u2019t provide the visibility or audit trail required.<\/p>\n

With Beebole\u2019s customizable tracking and reporting, Navteca gained the tools they needed to:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude80 Monitor employee time off and project hours in real time
\ud83d\ude80 Generate audit-ready reports for government compliance
\ud83d\ude80 Centralize data for accurate labor cost tracking across contracts<\/p>\n

\u201cBeebole provides the compliance and visibility we need. If we\u2019re ever audited, we know we can easily pull the reports to show exactly where time and costs went.\u201d<\/em> \u2014 Ram\u00f3n Ramirez-Linan, CTO, Navteca<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n \n Read the case study\n \n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

How to calculate employee absence rate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we move into the math and numbers of how to calculate your employee absence rate, it is essential to understand the framework surrounding the concept of absence. Let’s start with a straightforward definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report “Absence from Work<\/a>” published by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, absence is non-attendance at work when attendance was scheduled or expected<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along those lines, absences are those instances that prevent someone from going to work, such as health-related issues, childcare problems, or civic duty. That means that absences don’t include vacation time, personal days, holidays, or labor disputes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While all this sounds pretty straightforward, the reality is that absences are recorded in different ways across countries. For example, in a country like Norway, the definition of absence doesn’t include caring for family members. While in Poland, this is specifically included. In other words, calculating your absence rate will depend on where you live<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping that in mind, let’s move on to the concept of absence rate, also known as absenteeism rate or absence percentage. Absence rate is the rate of unplanned absence resulting from various causes such as sickness, childcare, and the like. This rate can be calculated for individual employees, for teams, and the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A standard formula for calculating absence rate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the definition of absence changes across countries, we can still use a standard formula to calculate the employee absence rate. The following is the standard measure used by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How do you calculate absence rate?<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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Absence rate<\/strong> = (number of absent days \/ number of available workdays in a given period) x 100<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As you can see, this formula includes two variables:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Number of absent days.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Number of available workdays in a given period.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    For the first variable, you just need to track the absence days of your employees. For the second one, you need to follow your country’s guidelines regarding absence tracking and do your math.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Example of how to calculate absence rate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Let’s see an absenteeism rate example to understand this better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let’s say that Peter, one of your full-time employees, was absent 10 days in 2019. Since we already know the number of missing days (10), you need to calculate the number of available workdays during that year. Start with the total number of days (365) in a year. Then, subtract the following: weekends (102), public holidays (11), and voluntary days off (20). So, it’ll look something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Number of available workdays: 365 – (102 + 11 + 20) = 232<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now, you can calculate Peter\u2019s absence rate: (10 \/ 232) x 100 = 4.3%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But, what does Peter’s 4.3% rate say to you? This could be high, as absence greater than 1.5% could be an indication of burnout, conflict at work, or any non-physical cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, if Peter had terrible flu and was forced to stay in bed for two weeks, that doesn’t necessarily fall under absenteeism. It’s also important to note that you shouldn’t be too happy if Peter’s absentee rate were below 1.5%, as that could be a sign of presenteeism. Workplace presenteeism can be even worse for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The most important thing about calculating the employee absenteeism rate is that you can quickly identify patterns and trends that can lead to absenteeism. Identifying those patterns and trends more effectively is possible. You can use additional absenteeism rate formulas to assess absenteeism within your organization better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Other methods to measure & assess employee absences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Besides the employee absenteeism rate, some additional measurements will help you deal with the frequency and severity of the absences that occur in your company. Let’s take a look at the following methods and examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Lost time rate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    As explained by Fitzgerald, lost time rate “shows the percentage of the total time available that has been lost due to any type of absence during a certain period.<\/strong>” Use the following formula to calculate that percentage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    How do you calculate lost time rate?<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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    Lost time rate<\/strong> = (total absence [hours or days] \/ total hours or days of the period analyzed) x 100<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Let’s go back to Peter. Let’s start by saying that Peter was supposed to work 150 hours during January. However, he missed 10 hours of work. If that’s the case, his lost time rate for that month would be the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Peter\u2019s lost time rate = (10 \/ 150) x 100 = 7%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A high lost time rate can indicate a problematic absenteeism rate. Still, it’s essential to keep in mind that this rate is not accurate, as it can be distorted by particular combinations of absence duration and the number of absent employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Frequency rate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    This rate expresses the average number of absence days per worker during a given period<\/strong>. To calculate this rate, use the following formula:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    How do you calculate frequency rate?<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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    Frequency rate<\/strong> = (total number of periods of absence \/ total number of employees) x 100<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    However, if you want to focus on the number of individual employees who have been absent during a specific period, you need to use a slightly different formula:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Individual frequency rate = (total number of employees who were absent \/ total number of employees) x 100<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To illustrate the above, let’s imagine that during a particular period, there were ten periods of absence incurred by five employees out of a total of 30 employees that you have in your staff. If we use the formulas we mentioned before, we will get the following rates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Frequency rate = (10 \/ 30) x 100 = 33%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Individual frequency rate = (5 \/ 30) x 100 = 17%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Severity rate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    With severity rate, you can find out the average length of time lost per absence<\/strong>. If this rate is high, it may be a warning sign of absenteeism. Apply the following formula to calculate your employees’ severity rate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    How do you calculate severity rate?<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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    Severity rate <\/strong>= (total number of days absent during a period \/ total number of times missing during that period) x 100<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Measuring the frequency and severity rates within your organization has its perks. You will be in a much better position to identify trends that may lead to absenteeism. “High frequency and severity rates indicate that the employee is absent more frequently and for longer durations, each time resulting in high absenteeism even in absolute terms,” argues an article posted on EconomicsDiscussion.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Bradford factor score<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, it is worth mentioning the Bradford factor score,<\/strong> a useful metric used by HR departments to identify recurring short-term absences<\/strong>, which are usually considered more disruptive for business than long-term absences. Let’s see how to calculate the Bradford factor score:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    How do you calculate the Bradford factor score?<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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    Bradford factor score<\/strong> = (number of occasions of absence)\u00b2 x total number of days of absence<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Keep in mind that the Bradford factor score is calculated annually. Let’s take a look at one quick example so you can see how useful this score is in terms of monitoring short-term absences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let’s say that Peter took one absence and was absent for ten days. His Bradford score would be the following: (1)\u00b2 x 10 = 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On the other hand, John took five absences and was absent ten days (meaning that each absence lasted about two days). His Bradford score would be the following: (5)\u00b2 x 10 = 250.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As you can see, both Peter and John were absent for the same number of days. However, John’s score offers an indication that his short-term absences are recurring because the higher the score, the more frequent the absences are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    John’s score could also be a sign that he is struggling in the current job environment. A secure manager would pinpoint this as a red flag and find an opportunity to address this potential issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Using a time tracking tool for tracking absences & costs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Before you can dive into calculating your employees\u2019 absence rate, it\u2019s important to have a secure system to accurately and efficiently track absence days<\/strong>. With Beebole<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, for instance, that\u2019s easier than ever. Thanks to the flexibility of the \u201cTime off\u201d module, employees can simply track their time by selecting the following three variables:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Type of time off needed (e.g. illness, vacation, volunteering)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Options available according to absence configuration (full day, half day, hourly) <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Selected dates<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Once they have selected all of the above, employees can see their existing time off with detailed information about the reasons behind the absences, the amount of time involved, and the status of the requested time off (draft, submitted, approved):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"You<\/a>
      Note that managers have complete control of creating the types of absences<\/svg><\/span><\/a> employees can track.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Analyzing your employees\u2019 absenteeism rate is just the beginning of the powerful insight Beebole can provide. Using the standard cost settings<\/a> you can also include the actual cost of your employees<\/a>, allowing for advanced reporting on profitability, ROI, productivity, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Using\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      How to prevent employee absenteeism in the workplace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Calculating employee absenteeism and assessing absences using the formulas highlighted is key. It should be part of a process aimed at fixing problems within your organization. Perhaps the most important thing about these formulas is that you can use them as a point of reference to compare absences, patterns, and behaviors among your staff, departments, and even your industry. The following are some of the benefits you can obtain when you calculate employee absences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n