Work Absenteeism In Health Care Facilities Social Work Essay

Work Absenteeism In Health Care Facilities Social Work Essay Work absenteeism is one of the biggest challenges which face service provision in health care facilities. There has been an increase in the number of staff or health care practitioners who are absent from work and this affects health care delivery in such facilities. Work absenteeism may occur due to legitimate reasons or illegitimate reasons. Legitimate reason for work absenteeism include sickness, family issues and baby sitting while illegitimate reasons include missing work due to false pretences (Beach, 2007). In health care facilities, work absenteeism is a very serious issue since it adversely affects health care provision. Health care provision is a sensitive issue since it may lead to fatality of patients or deterioration of patients health if enough health care staff is not present to cater to their needs. It is therefore important to assess the issue of work absenteeism in the health care industry in more detail. This paper will assess work absenteeism in health care and will specifically focus on hospital and nursing home settings. The various causes of work absenteeism and adverse effects to health care institutions will be discussed in detail. The solutions to work absenteeism in the health care industry will also be given. The discussed issues will be summarized at the end. Causes of work absenteeism There are various causes of work absenteeism in the health care industry. These will be discussed below; Sickness This is one of the most common causes of work absenteeism in the health care industry. Many employees who call in sick are genuinely unwell and unable to discharge their duties effectively. This causal factor can be linked to the high cost of health care delivery in the United States and the world in general. The increase in health care costs and insurance has made many people be unable to afford health care services (Kotlikoff, 2007). Such people seek low quality health care service providers, home solutions or Internet remedies for diseases. These are ineffective in dealing with illnesses and health care employees who seek these solutions due to the inability to access health care services are likely to be absent from work for longer periods than those who seek effective treatment interventions. It is important to offer affordable and high quality health care services to both health care employees and the public in general in order to reduce the problem of work absenteeism. Family issues There are various family issues which may make employees in the health care industry be away from work. These family issues include domestic violence, divorce proceedings, family conflicts and others. Family issues are important to address and this is the reason that many health care employees who face these issues are likely to be absent from work in order to deal with them. It is difficult for any employee to be productive at the workplace when dealing with unresolved family issues. Many employees opt to deal with such issues before resuming work in order to be productive. Employers should give employees sufficient time to deal with family issues since such issues are likely to lower employee motivation if not dealt with in a timely manner. Babysitting Due to the effects of the global economic crunch, many families have had their disposable income lowered. Such families are struggling to pay their bills and expenses with the little income earned. As a result, many families are unable to pay for babysitters for their babies especially due to the hard economic times. In such circumstances, some employees in health care institutions may be forced to stay away from work as they baby sit their babies. This on the other hand adversely affects health care service provision since there may be inadequate staff to deal with patients. It is thus important to find a solution to this issue. Low employee motivation Employee motivation is very important for organizations in any industry. Employees are the most valuable resource and it is important to motivate them and increase their output in order for organizations to achieve their objectives (Mugisho, 2007). Employee motivation enables employees to look forward to going to their places of work, in this case hospitals and other health care facilities. However, when employees have low motivation levels, most prefer missing work and undertaking other activities which may be more rewarding to them. Low employee motivation is arguably the major reason that employees are absent from work in cases of illegitimate reasons. It is important to address the issue of employee motivation if cases of workplace absenteeism are to be reduced in health care institutions. Stress related issues Stress is a major causality of low employee productivity and work absenteeism in health care facilities. Employees in health care facilities are exposed to working under pressure in order to meet the targets set. Such employees see injuries and fatalities almost on a daily basis and this would cause psychological effects to any human being. Student interns are exposed to working for very long hours with little rest and this is stressful to them. When such employees are not provided for with an effective mechanism to deal with such stress, they are likely to be absent from work as a result of stress effects. This in turn adversely affects service provision in health care facilities. Employees should be provided for with mechanisms for dealing with stress if they are to reduce cases of absenteeism from the workplace. Nurse staffing ratio There is a major problem in many health care service facilities due to the inadequate number of health care professionals, especially nurses. There is an inadequate number of nurses in these facilities and this exerts pressure on nurses to work harder and for longer hours in order to meet the needs of patients (Phelps, 2002). This causes a strain to them as they are forced to work under tremendous pressure. In most cases, the increased workload does not translate into higher pay and this further frustrates them. In such working environments, nurses lose motivation to work and they begin being absent from work for illegitimate reasons. The problem of nurse staffing ration should therefore be addressed to reduce cases of work absenteeism. Disadvantages of work absenteeism There are various adverse effects which are associated with work absenteeism in health care facilities. These will be discussed below; Quality of health care service provision Work absenteeism in health care service delivery facilities adversely affects health care provision amongst patients. When health care professionals are absent from work, there may be inadequate health care professionals to deal with the needs of patients. This may affect the quality of health care received by patients. It may also lead to further complications for patients or even fatalities due to inadequate care given to patients. This is very dangerous for the nation at large since the health of the population may be compromised as a result of work absenteeism by health care workers. It is thus important to address this issue immediately to preserve the lives of patients. Poor performance by health care facilities Many health care facilities, especially those set up by the private sector are usually developed with profit making objective as a major goal. Although helping the sick is a major objective of many hospitals, many are formed to make profit out of charging for health care services provided. When employees are absent from work, just like in any other organization, productivity reduces. Reduction in productivity over time may lead to losses by the health care institutions. It may also lead to the inability to attain the set organizational goals. It is therefore necessary to ensure that employees in health care facilities are not absent from work since this may be an obstacle to the attaining of organizational objectives. Solution to problems There are several solutions which should be implemented in order to deal with the problems which were earlier discussed in the paper. These solutions will be discussed on the basis of the individual problems discussed earlier. Sickness It has been discussed that sickness is one of the major problems which contribute to work absenteeism. When employees are sick, they are unable to discharge their duties effectively. Employees who seek low quality health care services are more likely to be absent for longer periods than those who seek high quality services. In order to deal with this issue, the government and health care providers should take immediate steps. The government should reduce the costs of health care services and insurance through allocating more funds to cater for the same. Health care facilities should offer health care cover to all employees in order to ensure that they have access to high quality health care services. This will reduce the number of hours employees are absent due to sickness or other health complications. Family issues There are various family issues which health care professionals experience, as is experienced with the rest of society. It is important to develop mechanisms which can enable health care professionals deal with family issues without affecting their workplace objectives. Employees in health care facilities should have access to counselors who will enable them solve family issues which they face. This will prevent such issues from affecting their work environment and causing work absenteeism in health care facilities. Babysitting It has been discussed that babysitting is a causal factor of work absenteeism since many employees are unable to afford babysitters due to harsh economic times. It is important to empower employees, especially those with babies, to be financially stable and to be in a position to cater for all the babys needs. Health care service institutions should take two steps to resolve this problem. The first is to increase employee remuneration in order to ensure that employees, especially those with children, are able to access salaries and benefits which are adequate in catering for the childrens welfare. The second step is creating a nursery within the health care facility and allowing parents to bring their young ones in such environments. This strategy has proven to be very effective in increasing the productivity of working mother since they have peace of mind whenever they work in environments where their children are within reach. These two strategies should be implemented depending on the policies of the organization in order to ensure that work absenteeism is minimized. Low employee motivation Low employee motivation is caused by several factors including poor leadership, organizational culture, low remuneration and others. Low motivation reduces employee productivity and it is likely to cause work absenteeism due to lack of morale by employees. In order to improve employee motivation, several factors should be taken into account by the management. The management should employ the democratic leadership style which allows employees to participate in decision making (Bratton et. al., 2004). The management should also ensure that there is a conducive organizational culture which features communication, teamwork, conflict resolution mechanisms and participative decision making. In addition, the management should use both financial and non-financial motivation forms when remunerating employees. This will lead to an increase in employee productivity, organizational performance and lower cases of work absenteeism. Stress related issues As previously discussed, nurses are prone to stress due to the nature of the environment they work in. Nurses work in an environment where they experience injuries and fatalities by patients every day. Some patients come with serious injuries and they may survive or not. Nurses care for such patients and in cases where patients succumb to injuries, nurses suffer psychological trauma. Nurses also work under tremendous pressure and this may make them experience stress. In order to deal with stress, the management should ensure that nurses have access to counselors and therapies needed to enable them overcome workplace stress. This will enable them to work more effectively and will reduce cases where nurses are absent from work due to stress. Nurse staffing ratio Nursing staff ratio is a major cause of work absenteeism in health care institutions due to the pressure exerted on nurses. The inadequate number of nurses forces them to work harder and for longer time durations. This de-motivates them and makes some opt to be absent from work. In order to deal with this issue, the government and health care providers have a responsibility to ensure that there are adequate nurses in every health care facility. This can be achieved through dialog between all health care stakeholders and development of strategies which will ensure that adequate nurses are trained and posted to health care institutions around the country (Murray, 2005). This will reduce the burden to nurses and ensure that they work with relative ease. Such an action will reduce the number of nurses who are absent from work. Summary and conclusion Various issues which relate to work absenteeism in health care facilities have been discussed in detail. Employees have been seen to abstain from work for a variety of reasons and these include low morale, family issues, stress, sickness, nurse staffing ratio and babysitting among other causes. This has been seen to adversely affect health care service delivery to patients. It has also been seen to lower the performance of health care providers. In order to deal with these issues, a number of recommendations have been made and these include allowing children to work, ensuring employees are adequately remunerated, ensuring employees have access to counselors, increasing nurse staffing ratio and improving health care services to employees who work for hospitals and nursing homes. This will reduce instances where employees are absent from work and it will ensure that all objectives of health care organization are met.

Effects of Computer Games to young student Essay

Introduction It is known that we are living in the technological era. Computers became an irreplaceable tool in everyday life of almost every person. The adult users generally use it for business purposes while youngsters for computer games. Computers are part of our life and are a very important component in many spheres of modern life. And nowadays majority of young people spend their time either gaming or surfing the net. Computer games have become one of the favorite past time of young people from kids, teens and even adults. These habits turn to an addiction that has a tremendous effect on young people. In an increasingly technology-dependent based society, people will continue to use computers not only for business but also for pleasure. Computers have become a social and economic necessity that permeates every part of our lives, it is feasible that in the future, every person in the world may own or use a computer. Therefore, necessary precaution must be taken in exploring all the uses of computers, and the negative consequences of using them on a daily basis. Acknowledgement We would like to use this opportunity to acknowledge the people who helped us to accomplish our research paper. First of all we would like to thank the students who had a big part in accomplishing our research paper. They all gave their insights about our topic and honestly answered all the questions we asked. We also give the thanks to the Psychologists and Sociologists who gave us much information and enlightened us about our topic. We would also like to thank our friends who are always there to help us and encourage us to make a successful research paper. I also thank my partner in this research who is always there to help me accomplish the tasks in our research paper, and lastly we would to thank our lord Jesus Christ for the strength and hope he gave us for the times we feel like we can’t finish our research paper. Background of the study Controversies about computer gaming addiction being linked to violence have been rampant since the 80’s. Studies show that most delinquents have had  some time playing video games before doing a crime. Although little to no proof is exhibited till today, we hope to share our insights on this matter. This research provides an exemplary background concerning a specific addiction amongst teens which is gaming, be it Pc or console, this research paper tackles the psychological aspect of a gamers behavior from consistent influence with factors emanating from games ranging from violent to educational ones, for as computer games grow in popularity, the negative and positive effects of usage should be studied.   Statement of the Problem This study aims to answer the following.  What psychological reason implies to game addiction.  How violence is usually associated with certain gaming genres. How game developing should be continued or discontinued?  If games can affect human behavior dramatically that it can change the very being of a person. If simulation can replace human interactions in the future. Objective of the Study The general objective of this study is to understand the true nature of gaming. Specifically, this research aims to fulfill the following:  To understand why majority of the youth prefer isolation through gaming rather than socialization, To know why addiction is prominent in today’s generation; and To the ultimate reason of addiction to gaming. Significance of study This section will provide brief description on the various significances of the study given the three categories Educational, Technological and Psychological. To students. The proposed study serves the students as their reference or guide to today’s temptation with present day technological marvels. It will also help students into taking computer related courses to enlighten the next generation on the matter on computer addiction. To experts. The proposed study will help Psychologists and Sociologists to have a deeper understanding to the said matter. By this study they will come up  with easier and effective treatment varying from correction to prevention. To future researchers. The proposed study will benefit and help them as a guide. The study can also open in development in association to whatever obstacle lies in the future with reference to this subject. Scope and Limitation of the study This research paper focuses on the nature of how PC/Console games contribute to today’s society, mostly students, for they are what make up the majority number of gamers, and whether it be negative or positive, this research paper aims to give a better understanding of how this form of entertainment can give such a huge impact to today’s society. CHAPTER II Materials & Methods In order to gather valuable data, the researchers conducted an oral interview with fellow gamers in a local computer shop (computer shop name disclosed). Oral interview was used since it is more applicable to the kind of problem being studied and because their eyes were glued to the screen at the moment of the questioning. The Oral interview was a five-item interview that deals with the student’s background and how gaming affected him/her academically. The questions asked are: 1. Who or How was computer gaming introduced to you? 2. How often do you play? 3. Does gaming affect your class standing? 4. For you, is gaming good or bad? 5. What genre of game do you prefer? CHAPTER III Results A total of 5 students were interviewed on the 4th of April 2014, somewhere between the times of 13:00 to 15:00. The survey only lasted for not more than two minutes and the volunteers were very cooperative. The gathered date revealed that the first 3 of 5 interviewees were doing exceptionally well in school despite spending some 8 hours of gaming on a daily basis, where they  favored a MOBA genre particularly LOL. The three of them were childhood friends and played together most of the time. Interviewee 4 is a scholar in a prestigious school (FEU-East Asia College). Despite admitting the she is a gaming addict; her habit never hindered her studies and managed to maintain an excellent streak of grades since her admission in the year 2012. She started playing games when her now ex-boyfriend introduced the MOBA game LOL. Interviewee 5 is an average person, with average grades, above passing; stating that for him, gaming was just a past-time, spending some 6-8 total hours of gaming, at home and in a computer shop. He favored the game Dragon Nest which is an MMO-RPG game. He started playing it because he found it curious and fun. CHAPTER IV Conclusion We came to the conclusion that gaming addiction was mostly related to the influence of the number of players that play the game. Curiosity then mostly by invitation is how a player starts with a game. Addiction, we believe, arises from peer pressure, or in worst cases, withdrawal from society due to negative treatment from people.

Walmart s Environmental Impact On Sustainability

1. What projects did you select? I selected Walmart’s project to work with their suppliers to encourage sustainable practices and products, Walmart’s own new commitment to move to 100% recyclable packaging and to remove certified synthetic colors and artificial flavors in their own products, and Walmart’s project to raise their hourly wage to $10. 2. What goals do the projects address in terms of environmental impacts? The first project concerning Walmart’s commitment to working with suppliers to evaluate their products relates directly to Walmart’s environmental impacts. Just looking at this aspect of this business, Walmart can be classified as a supplier. The goods they buy are then sold to the consumer through Walmart. Walmart is†¦show more content†¦Both packaging and emissions have a direct impact on the environment The final project I am discussing, Walmart’s wage increase doesn’t directly relate to the environment. Concerning the triple bottom line this project fits more into the social category, because it impacts the life of their workers and their community. They set the following goals: â€Å"Be the place to go for a first job, provide a clear path for career advancement, put millions of associates through focused training, foster predictability and stability and pay, accelerate the mobility of frontline retail workers beyond Walmart, promote culture, diversity and inclusion at Walmart, support economic inclusion in supply chains and communities.†(Walmart, 8). 3. How do the projects’ outcomes relate to the business reasons for adopting sustainability practices? The business reasons for adopting sustainability practices are reducing costs, generating new revenue streams, increasing market share, improving external image, reducing compliance and litigation risks, attracting and retaining labor talent, and attracting capitol. All three of these projects relate to several of these reasons. 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