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Professionally Related Absences: Incidence, Causes & Key Findings for School Districts

Employees in K-12 organizations often need to be absent for personal reasons, such as illness or bereavement. But how often are absences for professionally related reasons — those driven by district — or school-level leaders?

Based on three years of data from more than 4,500 K-12 organizations, this report focuses on the incidence and impact of those absences. The report also reviews the level of collaboration across departments around managing absences, based on a survey of nearly 700 school districts.

Key Findings

This report is based on data from more than 4,500 educational organizations and 2.6 million employees in Frontline Absence & Time.

Frequency of Professionally Related Absences

Nearly 1 in 5 absences are for professionally related reasons. More than half of those absences (and 10% of all absences) are solely for professional development. 

Professional Related Absences

Absence Lead Time & Fill Rates

Nearly 1/3 of professionally related absences requiring a substitute are reported within 4 days of the absence. As absence lead time shortens, fill rates (the ability to find a substitute) steadily decline. 

Lead Time

Collaboration Between HR & Instruction

40% of school district personnel say that collaboration between the Human Resources and Curriculum and Instruction departments is rare or non-existent when it comes to managing professionally related absences. 

Collaboration

Get the Full Report

Get the full report now to learn:

  • The top reasons for employee absences
  • Whether professionally related absences are increasing or decreasing
  • How often absences are filled by substitutes
  • The impact of absence lead time on fill rates
  • Strategies for increasing collaboration to reduce the impact of absences

Download the white paper below.