Employee Absenteeism and Its Effect on Organisational Output: A Study of Lafarge Africa Plc, Ewekoro Plant, Ogun State

This study investigates the causes and consequences of employee absenteeism on organisational output at Lafarge Africa Plc's Ewekoro Plant in Ogun State, South West Nigeria. Absenteeism in the manufacturing sector imposes measurable costs through production delays, increased overtime expenditure, and quality degradation, making it a significant HRM challenge. The study employs a survey research design, collecting primary data via structured questionnaires from 150 production and operations employees selected through systematic random sampling. Secondary data comprising shift attendance logs and output records are drawn from the organisation's internal HR database, covering the most recent reporting period. Steers and Rhodes's Process Model of Employee Attendance provides the theoretical grounding for the analysis. Findings indicate that health-related absenteeism accounts for the largest proportion of unplanned absences, followed by personal emergencies and transport difficulties. The study also identifies a significant correlation between employee dissatisfaction with supervisory relationships and repeated absenteeism patterns. Production output metrics confirm that high-absenteeism shifts consistently underperform relative to fully staffed shifts by a measurable margin. Recommendations include the introduction of an employee wellness programme, improved transport subsidies, and a structured attendance reward system. The study also advocates for the use of HR analytics to identify early-warning absenteeism patterns. This research contributes practical, plant-specific evidence to Nigerian HRM literature on workforce attendance management. Keywords: Absenteeism, Organisational Output, Manufacturing, Lafarge Africa, Attendance Management.