Exploring management of unauthorised absenteeism in a public academic hospital in South Africa: a human capital perspective

Abstract

The public academic hospital in Gauteng, South Africa, is tasked to offer a full range of tertiary and highly specialised services, inpatient and specialist outpatient services. It is one of the public hospitals rocked by unauthorised absenteeism, underscoring the urgent need for effective corrective measures. The aim is to scrutinise the management of authorised absenteeism in a public academic hospital in South Africa. Data were collected from a sample of six middle managers and six supervisors of the public academic hospital in Gauteng, South Africa. A qualitative approach using semi-structured individual interviews for data collection was applied. Data was computed using ATLAS ti. version 23. The 12th interview reached saturation. Thematic coding was used to analyse the collected data, and the literature was reviewed to support the findings. An independent coder was employed to confirm the findings. The findings indicated three main themes: (1) leave application barriers, (2) views on the current monitoring system, and (3) improvements/recommendations. To manage authorised absenteeism properly, supervisors and middle managers should establish clear guidelines and protocols for absenteeism and develop an attendance monitoring policy with role specifications for managerial personnel. In addition, human resource managers should implement employee wellness programmes, recruitment, motivation, and absenteeism monitoring systems. Absenteeism management and related leave barriers were identified.