What is Absconding
Absconding in terms of a regular employment refers to leaving an employment secretly or without a prior notice/official resignation. This is generally done to avoid legal consequences, obligations or any responsibilities which might be a part of the process if an employee leaves with a formal resignation.
Absconding is commonly considered a serious workplace ethics violation and organizations can impose legal actions or penalties on the employee.
Differentiating Between Resignation, Termination and Absconding
All three terms listed above are different in nature, here’s a clear differentiation-
Resignation
This can be considered as a voluntary action, usually requires a formal notice with a particular tenure to be serves as a notice period depending upon the company policies. In most cases, employees resign for a reason like career growth, personal situations or maybe some new opportunities in the way. In the process of completing the notice period, employee is bound to fulfil the handover formalities and ensure professionalism at every facet.
Termination
Terminating an employee is a harsh term and mostly happens due to performance issues, behavioural misconduct or might be a company’s internal decision. This can completely be a planned process as employees with any misconduct or violations can be terminated without notice. However, termination can also be a result of downsizing/cost-cutting etc. The process involves legal documentations, notice period requirements and a strict policy in adherence to company policy or labour laws.
Absconding
This can be considered as an unapproved disappearance from the workplace without giving any prior notice or a formal resignation as per the company policy. Absconding is a serious misconduct and can disrupt regular company operations, breach of polities etc. Companies can even take a legal action on the employee.
What are the reasons an employee absconds from work?
There can be multiple reasons why an employee absconds from work, listed below are the major ones-
- Conflicts in Workplace
Employee might be facing challenges with colleagues or managers which can disturb their peace, and they can feel unsupported or mistreated. This can prompt an employee to part ways.
- Looking for Career Growth
Employees might feel unproductive if they feel there is no growth predicted in their career. Lack of future opportunities might make an employee quit.
- Workload and Stressful Situations
An overworked employee is most likely to quit and with too much work comes loads of responsibilities and stress.
- Inappropriate Remuneration
Salary is one of the major aspects why employees switch jobs or feel undervalued. An inappropriate remuneration can lead an employee to quit.
- Toxic Work Culture
A toxic work environment can also be considered as a major cause of employees leaving suddenly. An absconding employee most likely have faced a hostile environment at work, any kind of harassment could also be a possibility, or even unethical practices can lead an employee to part ways.
How to deal with an employee who leaves suddenly?
Dealing with an absconding employee might seem tricky but it requires a balanced approach of equating policies while maintaining professionalism. Here are the steps to be followed-
- Try to be in Contact
This may sound unusual but trying to be in contact should be the first step. Reach out to them via email, phone or any official communication option to clarify on the exact reason of moving.
- Assess the Impact
Try to channelize what immediate impact would your team or prior commitments suffer from. Make sure you assign temporary resource to absorb the immediate effects and let the workflow regulates as usual.
- Recheck Absconding Policies
Most organizations have a set of predesigned absconding policies, check if anything can be taken care of, if there are any contractual obligations or final settlements which can be made.
- Document Everything
Documenting every step is imperative as it can help in recording the attempts to contact the employee, their last working date, pending dues, liabilities etc. You can further blacklist absconding employees or withhold final settlements as a part of the company’s discretionary.