Learning Activity 9.1 – Reply To Wafa

I think Wafa did a great job of her podcast! The problem that she outlined is definitely applicable to real problems in practice. I’m sure abuse of absent days is an issue that plagues many workplaces. The project definitely has a good plan including a committee and interviews of those who have high absent days. All of this would be to find the root cause of why there are so many absent days and what can be done to decrease them.

Wafa’s project involves quantitative data in tables and qualitative data in the form of reflections journals. She explained, in detail, how the data could be used and that it should be recollected and revisited if necessary to apply the findings.

Wafa’s conclusion mentions asking staff to be on alert for seasons in which there is higher volume. As she noted in her introduction, it could be due to staff being overworked and feeling the need to take an extra day off. To this, she suggested that more staff be hired so as to distribute the workload more evenly.

In her podcast, it is clear Wafa has a good understanding of the problem. She carefully reflects and explains each step of her thinking and takes the time to clarify why she feels the way she does. I believe her outline will help not only businesses but staff as well.

My favorite part of her podcast was when she acknowledged that absences could be both legitimate and abused. Many people suffer from chronic illness or are in families in which when one person is sick someone has to take over other responsibilities. It leaves room for the understanding that absenteeism isn’t always something that should be frowned upon. If I had to give one recommendation it would be to talk more about the sources you might collect for background knowledge on the subject. I wonder, what are the statistics around illegitimate reasons for absenteeism?

Overall, I greatly enjoyed her podcast. Well done Wafa!