Table 6 Calculated absence measures among worker categories, January to May 2014
From: Effect of malaria on productivity in a workplace: the case of a banana plantation in Zimbabwe
Absence measure | General workers | Workshop personnel | Guards | Drivers | Administration staff | Supervisors | All employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Incidence of absence (absentees/total workforce) | 88.1% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 93.3% |
Absence frequency (total number of spells in 5 months) | 148 | 7 | 35 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 224 |
Frequency rate (spells/absentees) | 1.7 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.6 |
Total estimated duration of spells (total days lost due to malaria) | 364.9 days | 17.5 days | 69.0 days | 24.0 days | 27.2 days | 28.8 days | 531.0 days |
Severity rate (average duration of spells) (days lost divided by number of spells) | 2.5 days | 2.5 days | 2.0 days | 3.0 days | 2.1 days | 2.4 days | 2.4 days |
Incapacity rate (total days lost divided by absentees) | 4.1 days | 2.5 days | 3.0 days | 4.0 days | 2.1 days | 2.4 days | 3.7 days |
Number of working days in 5 months at 5.5 days per week for all categories | 116 days | 116 days | 116 days | 116 days | 116 days | 116 days | 116 days |
Estimated total number of absent days by workers (number of spells × severity rate) | 370 days | 17.5 days | 70 days | 24 days | 27.3 days | 28 days | 537.6 days |
Total number of scheduled working days for all workers (working days in 5 months × total employees) | 10,324 days | 812 days | 2668 days | 696 days | 1508 days | 1392 days | 17,980 days |
Absenteeism rate {(total number absent days divided by total scheduled days) | 3.58% | 2.16% | 2.62% | 3.45% | 1.81% | 2.01% | 2.99% |