While the joke says a tidy desk is a sign of insanity, some people believe a disorganised desk may cause stress and increase absenteeism.

Feng shui, the oriental art of harmonising people's environments with their sense of well-being, has influenced the design of a British Airways building near Heathrow Airport, London.

Rounding off corners, installing plants and having an aquarium are all ideas borrowed from the art whose unproven theory is that cluttered space interferes with the flow of "chi", the invisible energy which comes from all things.

But nowadays an adequate environment is regarded as crucial to worker health and happiness. Dr Joe Fitzgibbon, who specialises in allergy and environmental medicine, says high absenteeism is often a signal for an employer to deal with "sick building syndrome", a term describing a variety of workplace ills.

Where 30 per cent or more of employees complain of their environment, there are grounds for investigating it, he says.

His company, Work Environment Consultants, examines such environments and reports on their temperature, humidity, air flow and quality, and lighting. High microbe levels can cause irritation to mucus membranes or allergies, Dr Fitzgibbon says.

Chemical analysis is also important. Fumes from new carpets have killed mice under laboratory conditions and gases are also given off by furnishings and plastic installations. In the purely physical environment, being able to control radiators and to open or close windows are two basic requirements. "You should not be more than eight metres away from a window at any time," he says.

Absenteeism - in this instance objecting to working conditions - is a form of revolt and Dr Fitzgibbon knows of one case where environmental problems led staff to refuse to enter their work premises.

The partnership is a multi-disciplinary approach which takes in ergonomics, looking at the quality of work stations and computer screen arrangements, and psychosocial factors, whether, in fact, the boss is incompetent or staff-to-staff relationships are sour.

It may be that promotional opportunities have been stifled. Dr Fitzgibbon points to large institutions which have all-male management structures. In those instances, it is not uncommon for female employees to get cynical about their career prospects. Managers may be surprised to discover greater absenteeism among female rather than male employees.

But some absenteeism is inevitable due to illness and unforeseen circumstances. A "background rate" of 4 per cent is generally acceptable. In other words, 4 per cent of any workforce might be expected to be absent at any one time. According to the Irish Business and Employers Confederation, 12 million working days are lost every year through absenteeism.

This contrasts with just 35,000 days lost in 1998 due to strike action. "It puts in context what a problem absenteeism is," says Mr Turlough O'Sullivan, IBEC's director of human resources.

Employee absence affects a company in many ways. For instance, it disrupts production schedules. Then there is the cost of paying the absentee and of time spent trying to organise stand-ins or spreading the workload around. Production deadlines may not be met which disrupts schedules and affects product quality.

"It is a very complex area and potentially a very costly area, one that requires much energy to keep it under control," Mr O'Sullivan says.

Although some absenteeism is due to ill-health and unforeseen circumstances, companies are advised to check the attendance records of potential recruits.

After that, an effective induction process is necessary, emphasising that company's high standard of attendance.

Good records are vital to grasping the extent of the problem. "Records are an absolute essential when you have to deal with absenteeism and an absolute essential when you confront someone," he says, "If it is a genuine problem, most employers will be sympathetic."

An employee could have family or social problems which may be easily resolved. A good social and family life is a necessary back-up for the discipline to attend work. Getting a night's sleep is a basic requirement to a healthy working life.

Mr O'Sullivan says firing an employee for being absent is an extreme response and a costly procedure. It involves a loss of investment in training the person and the expense of finding a replacement. "It makes a lot of sense to try to rehabilitate somebody in the first place," he says.

The VHI, the health insurance company, has set up a work environment comprising teams of up to 10 people to increase an employee's sense of belonging. "With big departments of 40 or 50 people, absenteeism is much higher than in units of five or six people," says Ms Maureen Caulfield, VHI's general manager of human resources.

The company's attitude to good attendance is that it is a team leader's responsibility, an approach which has won it an award from the Institute of Personnel and Development, and the Irish Centre of Business Excellence. "I would say that our management of absenteeism has seen, at a minimum, a 20 per cent decrease in it," Ms Caulfield says.

A factory environment has traditionally been an area where routine work is carried out. Staff may become bored, then they don't show up.

But Dell Computer in Limerick is switching from the traditional production line model of each person having an assigned task to one where a worker will build a complete unit, leading to a better teamwork environment.

The 3,500 employees in Limerick are also involved in a profit-sharing scheme, so that they get the benefit of meeting and exceeding targets.

Mr Pat Casey, director of human resources, says those who are absent for more than 3 per cent of all working days in a year attract their attention.

"Attendance is a fundamental performance issue," he says.