Missing in action

Tom A. Coburn

AWOL is the general term given to hours during which an employee is absent from his or her job without permission. This can range from simply being late to work, to not showing for months at a time. Between 2001 and 2007, the number of work hours lost to AWOL employees rose steadily. In total, there were nearly 20 million AWOL hours in just seven years across 18 departments and agencies.