{"id":2617,"date":"2021-03-13T00:00:52","date_gmt":"2021-03-13T00:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ec2-52-95-249-27.ap-south-1.compute.amazonaws.com:8000\/blog\/?p=2617"},"modified":"2023-12-20T08:06:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T08:06:05","slug":"project-managers-manage-unplanned-leaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ec2-52-95-249-27.ap-south-1.compute.amazonaws.com:8000\/blog\/project-managers-manage-unplanned-leaves\/","title":{"rendered":"How do project managers deal with unplanned leaves?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A firm\u2019s workforce is the major asset for the organization. Your project\u2019s success<\/strong> and business profitability<\/strong><\/a> rely on their talent and performance. It\u2019s therefore imperative for project managers<\/a> to ensure their well-being to deliver the projects on time and within budget.<\/p>\n

Productivity<\/a> and the work-etiquette<\/strong> of your resources decide the fate of your projects. For instance, if a highly-skilled employee takes a leave unexpectedly during the course of a project, it will hamper the project\u2019s progress. Moreover, if other tasks are dependent on this one, it will have a domino effect bringing the project to a stop.<\/p>\n

Apart from the accounted sick and planned leaves, if you observe prolonged absenteeism, then it is a matter of concern. The reason behind this can be either personal or professional. It\u2019s the job of the project manager<\/strong> to find out the root cause and implement the right measures to avoid unscheduled absenteeism. <\/strong><\/p>\n

This article explains in-depth the effects, causes, and ways to tackle unplanned leaves<\/strong> at the workplace.<\/p>\n

\"Get<\/a>
\nAt first, let us understand its impact on the project\u2019s health,<\/p>\n

How does unplanned absenteeism affect the project’s health?<\/h2>\n

A project is divided into various tasks that are mostly dependent on each other. For example, let\u2019s say you are working on a software development project. From, designing the prototype to coding and testing the product, every task relies on the other\u2019s progress. If you don\u2019t have an initial design ready, you can\u2019t code, and if you don\u2019t have a code, you can\u2019t test it.<\/p>\n

Now that we know every task is crucial and is critically dependent on the other one, imagine your coder (resource) suddenly went on leave for a long time. With no backup plan in place, your project\u2019s progress is restricted causing unnecessary delays and budget overrun.<\/p>\n

In some situations, project managers<\/a> might overload another resource<\/strong> with the same task to keep the project going. It will cause overutilization<\/strong> and lead to employee burnout<\/strong> affecting the resource\u2019s health index.<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, unplanned absences have a cascading effect on the project\u2019s progress, timeline, and finances eventually impacting the overall profitability.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"effects-of-low-productivity\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So, what are the causes of these leaves?<\/p>\n

Causes of unplanned leaves<\/h2>\n

Employees can take off for both personal and professional reasons. The personal reasons<\/strong> entail sickness, a pressing family matter, bereavement, and stress. In such cases, it\u2019s the job of the manager to be supporting and understanding to help their employees cope better.<\/p>\n

Personal reasons are not concerning as long as resources are back in time. However, if professional reasons<\/strong> are causing the absenteeism, then managers need to jump in and take charge. Here is a list of possible reasons,<\/p>\n