Workshop Title

"Reducing Absenteeism in Remote Teams"

Problem

More sick days or time off than usual.

Objective

Help address increased absenteeism by identifying underlying causes and implementing strategies to improve well-being, engagement, and workload balance.

Benefits

• Reduced unplanned absences and sick days
• Improved team well-being and morale
• More balanced workloads and fair task distribution
• Stronger engagement and connection to the team
• A healthier and more sustainable remote work environment

Materials Needed

• 60 mins
• Virtual meeting platform (Zoom, Teams, etc.)
• Collaborative document (Google Docs, Miro, MURAL, etc.)
• Polling or chat function for quick engagement
• Breakout room feature for small-group discussions

Process

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

• Facilitator welcomes participants and introduces the topic:
  “Today, we’ll explore why absenteeism may be increasing in virtual teams and what we can do to create a healthier, more supportive work environment.”
• Poll question: “Have you noticed an increase in sick days or absences in your team?” (Yes/No/Not Sure—anonymous results shared.)
• Discuss common reasons for increased absenteeism, such as:
  • Burnout and stress from excessive workload
  • Lack of work-life balance, leading to exhaustion
  • Disengagement, causing employees to avoid work

2. The Absenteeism Challenge (15 minutes)

Exercise: What’s Causing It?

• Breakout rooms (3-4 people per group).
• Each group discusses:
  • What are some reasons people might take more sick days or time off in a virtual setting?
  • What patterns have you observed—are absences linked to specific workloads, meetings, or stress points?
  • What impact does absenteeism have on the team’s performance and morale?
• Groups return and share key insights.

3. Key Strategies for Reducing Absenteeism (15 minutes)

• Facilitator introduces three key strategies to address absenteeism:
  1. Improve workload balance – Ensure tasks are fairly distributed and avoid burnout cycles.
  2. Support well-being and flexibility – Encourage realistic work schedules and mental health awareness.
  3. Increase engagement – Make work meaningful and ensure people feel connected to the team.
• Chat question: “What’s one small change that could help reduce stress or improve work-life balance in your team?”
• Participants share ideas, and facilitator highlights key themes like reducing meeting overload, setting realistic deadlines, and encouraging open conversations about well-being.

4. Practical Application: Addressing Absenteeism Triggers (15 minutes)

Exercise: Fix the Stress Points

• Participants write down a situation where absenteeism may have increased in their team.
• They swap examples (or facilitator selects a few).
• Each person redesigns the approach using one of the key strategies.
• Example transformations:
  • ❌ Employees taking more unplanned leave due to meeting fatigue.
  • ✅ Introduce ‘meeting-free afternoons’ to reduce screen exhaustion.
• Share responses and discuss how small process improvements can create a healthier work environment.

5. Action Plan and Close (5 minutes)

• Each participant commits to one action they’ll take to support well-being and reduce absenteeism in their team.
• Facilitator summarises key takeaways.
• Final poll: “How confident do you feel about improving well-being and reducing absenteeism in your team?”