What is Absenteeism Rate?
Share of scheduled time lost to unplanned absence.
How to calculate it
Calculate Absenteeism Rate as: Days absent / Total available workdays × 100. Pull the inputs from your connected data and track the trend over time in your dashboard.
Examples
Example 1
150 unplanned absence days / 12,000 available workdays = 1.25%.
Example 2
150 unplanned absence days across 12,000 available workdays -> 1.25%, within a healthy range but worth watching if it climbs.
Why it matters
Absenteeism rate is the share of scheduled time lost to unplanned absence and is an indicator of both productivity and employee wellbeing. Rising absenteeism can be an early sign of burnout, disengagement or culture problems. Including planned leave in the calculation distorts it, so only unplanned absence should count.
Benchmark context
Under 1.5% is often targeted; a rising trend, more than the absolute level, is the signal worth acting on.
Common pitfalls
Including planned leave distorts it.
Related KPI guides
Also mentioned
Turn KPI definitions into governed dashboards
Metricwise helps teams define metrics once, reuse them across dashboards, and ask trusted business questions in plain English.
Get Started