--- title: "Home Care Recruitment: How Much Does Caregiver Absenteeism Cost You?" description: Through this blog, we hope to bring you a look into our front-row seat into the caregiver and CNA recruitment market image: https://employer.mycnajobs.com/hubfs/blog-img_Home%20Care%20Recruitment-%20How%20Much%20Does%20Caregiver%20Absenteeism%20Cost%20You.jpg --- [![](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Our%20Brands%20-%20color-2.png?width=2160&height=363&name=Our%20Brands%20-%20color-2.png)](http://www.mycnajobs.com) [![312-566-8520](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3021653/6811e047-4779-403d-9644-6fe179ea425b.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3021653/6811e047-4779-403d-9644-6fe179ea425b) ![couple-w-mustache-background.jpg](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stock%20images/couple-w-mustache-background.jpg?width=1800&name=couple-w-mustache-background.jpg "couple-w-mustache-background.jpg") # Recruitment & Retention Trends ## [Home Care Recruitment: How Much Does Caregiver Absenteeism Cost You?](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/blog/home-care-recruitment-how-much-does-caregiver-absenteeism-cost-you) Nov 6, 2017 6:45:00 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) *“I get calls at 5am from Caregivers with all kinds of reasons for why they can’t come to work. **I also get the calls from clients and family members when a caregiver just decides to not show up at all.”* Donna is the Office Manager for a medium sized home care agency in rural Ohio. She’s the one who deals with all the unplanned caregiver absences. *“I get two to three call-outs a week—sometimes more, sometimes less,” reports Donna.  “Each time, it’s a mad scramble to figure out the replacement. **Most of the time, it takes two to three hours to find a replacement and get them to the client’s location.  Sometimes, there is no replacement available at all.”* **The Research** The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that across all industries, the average absenteeism rate for all workers is just under 3%.  The absenteeism rate for Caregivers (CNA, PCA, HHA, Aides, etc.) in Long Term Care Facilities and Home Care is closer to 10%. ![Screen Shot 2017-11-01 at 6.37.52 PM.png](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202017-11-01%20at%206.37.52%20PM.png?width=320&name=Screen%20Shot%202017-11-01%20at%206.37.52%20PM.png) For small and medium sized companies, like Donna’s, unplanned caregiver absences are not only disruptive and frustrating—they are costly.  One study found that losses linked to absences cost U.S. employers $1,685 per employee per year. Some studies suggest that unplanned absenteeism costs probably exceed 15% of all profits.  Can you afford to give away 15% of your profits? ![Screen Shot 2017-11-01 at 6.38.37 PM.png](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202017-11-01%20at%206.38.37%20PM.png?width=320&name=Screen%20Shot%202017-11-01%20at%206.38.37%20PM.png) The impact is even greater for small businesses.  A smaller pool of Caregivers means less choice when it comes to replacing a Caregiver for the day.  It can also mean paying someone overtime to work above and beyond their regular schedule to cover the absent Caregiver. **The Costs Can Add Up in Many Ways:** - You may still have to pay wages to absent employees in the form of PTO or sick pay. - Replacement workers may cost you more, especially if they go into overtime. - You pay the administrative costs of finding and arranging replacements and dealing with disciplinary actions. **Money is Not the Only Way You Pay for Absences:** - You can (and maybe already have) lost clients because of unreliable Caregivers. - Your clients may receive poor quality of care from replacement Caregivers, especially if they are exhausted from working overtime or resentful because they were called in on their day off. - There may be safety issues if you have to send inadequately trained Caregivers or a Caregiver who is unfamiliar with the client’s special needs, personality, orders or appointments. - Poor morale among employees who have to “fill in” or do extra work to cover absent co workers *“We signed on with an agency to find us a Caregiver for Dad.  First, the agency sent Tara. Dad loved her. She was great. But, she was a single mom and the job was just too much for her.  She would call in sick twice a week.  So we had a string of different Caregivers every week. It was rare to have the same Caregiver for more than three days in a row. After a while, this began to take a toll on Dad. All of us, really. There were many days when the agency would call and say, ‘We don’t have a Caregiver to send out to you today.’ That meant I would have to miss work to stay home with Dad.”  ~ Maryanne Morris, Pittsburgh, PA* **Why Do Caregivers Call Out?** - Illness (physical and mental) - Child or Elder Care Issues - Transportation Problems - Pain (musculoskeletal, usually work related) - Lack of support or engagement - Low Workplace Morale - Stress / Burnout **What Can You Do About It?** It’s not enough just to know WHY.  You also have to know what to do about it!  Download our latest report: [44 Ways to Reduce Unplanned Caregiver Absences](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/44-ways-to-reduce-unplanned-caregiver-absences). What works in your workplace? Let us know in the comments! You may also like: [Recruiting Caregivers: Top Factors Candidates Look for When Deciding to go to an Interview](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/blog/top-factors-caregivers-look-for-when-deciding-to-go-to-an-interview) [The Most Expensive Part of Caregiver Recruiting Isn’t Advertisement - It’s Time](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/blog/the-most-expensive-part-of-caregiver-recruiting-isnt-advertisement-its-time) ![Linda Leekley](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/linda.jpg?width=100&height=100&name=linda.jpg) #### Written by [Linda Leekley](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/blog/author/linda-leekley) CEO, In the Know Caregiver Training Previous Post [![](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202017-10-14%20at%202.33.47%20PM.png) ](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/blog/caregiver-stna-recruitment-in-columbus-insights-from-new-webinar) [Caregiver & STNA Recruitment in Columbus - Insights From New Webinar](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/blog/caregiver-stna-recruitment-in-columbus-insights-from-new-webinar) Next Post [![](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/hubfs/dc01.jpg) ](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/blog/caregiver-cna-recruitment-in-washington-dc-insights-from-new-webinar) [Caregiver & CNA Recruitment in Washington DC & Northern Virginia - Insights From New Webinar](https://employer.mycnajobs.com/blog/caregiver-cna-recruitment-in-washington-dc-insights-from-new-webinar) ### Subscribe to Trends Updates - Recent - Popular - Categories ### Lists by Topic ### Posts by Topic ### Recent Posts #### About myCNAjobs myCNAjobs offers a suite of recruitment tools to recruit Caregivers, Resident Aides, CNAs, & Dietary. 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