Exploring absenteeism in university meetings: lessons from School B at a public university in Zambia

Harrison Daka; Judith Lubasi Illubala-Ziwa; Margaret Mwale-Mkandawire; Webster Hamweete

Harrison Daka 1University of Zambia, Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5497-6020
Judith Lubasi Illubala-Ziwa University of Zambia, Department of Religious and Cultural Studies https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5814-7193
Margaret Mwale-Mkandawire University of Zambia, Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9841-5126
Webster Hamweete University of Zambia, Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2503-0550

Keywords: Implication, absenteeism, growing trends, meeting attendance, virtual meetings, organizational productivity, phenomenological research design for broader discoverability

Abstract

This study explored the implications of growing trends of absenteeism in meetings with reference to a selected School (School B) at one of the public university in Zambia. The objectives of the study were to examine the attendance levels of meetings in the selected School of the public university, describe the possible reasons for members not attending meetings in the School, analyse the implications of absenteeism to meetings and to examine strategies of handling virtual and physical meetings in order to reduce absenteeism in the selected School and the university. This qualitative study used phenomenological research design in order for the researchers to interact with different participants and explore their common experiences on the issue at hand. Data were gathered from documents and unstructured interviews held with 22 participants drawn from the Dean’s office, Departments, lecturers and Professors. Guided by ‘Five theoretical lenses for conceptualizing the role of meetings in organizational life’ theory which focused on how organisations could make meetings effective and achieve their objectives, the study revealed that there was no policy at the univeristy regarding measures to be taken against those who missed meetings without apology and that after the meeting, minutes were rarely shared with members until the next meeting. The study has provided valuable insights and recommendations for the institution’s leaders, and other leaders in Zambia and beyond, to come up with policies and guidelines that might foster the culture of punctuality and efficiency at meeting attendance.