To cope with demanding business conditions, many warehouse managers have pared their staffs back to essential employees only. That works great when everybody comes to work each day, but a single absence can have a ripple effect, slowing other departments or inflating labor cost through overtime, says a story in WERC Watch, the newsletter of the Warehousing Education and Research Council. Over time, absenteeism can also affect employee morale, safety, productivity, accuracy, and turnover. The publication offers 10 tips to help control the problem. The basic approach recommends that policies be clearly written with rules and consequences understood by workers.

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