Since the most common reason for absenteeism is illness a broader acceptance of teleworking/homeworking could help to reduce this problem. Teleworking is now possible and much more affordable than before due to new communication and collaboration technologies (email, IM, videoconferencing, application/desktop sharing etc.). People who stay at home due to illness or just because they need to run some errands can still do all or part of they work. This approach is valid only to knowledge workers who are not necessarily needed in the office to perform their work. More on teleworking can be found at telework.gov, teleworkexchange.com or simply by duing a search on the Internet.