Is Your Organization Ready for the H1N1 Virus?
The H1N1 Virus, more commonly referred to as the “Swine Flu”, is a hot topic right now. The 2009-2010 flu season officially begins October 4th – with the more serious H1N1 pandemic added to the mix, how is your organization responding?
Pandemic defined: A disease prevalent throughout an entire country, or the whole world; epidemic over a large area.
Why is this important?
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports the H1N1 Virus cost Delta Airlines $250 million in second quarter revenue this year as the demand for travel slumped. Royal Caribbean claims the H1N1 Virus was a major factor in the company’s $35.1 million second quarter loss.
Travel industry or not, it’s easy to list the effects the pandemic may have on your company:
- Increased health care claims, including hospitalization.
- Loss of productivity and sales because of absenteeism, and disengagement of the workforce due to fears and anxiety about outbreaks of the illness.
- Loss of sales because of your company’s inability to fill orders due to absenteeism.
- Expenses for outsourcing and temporary staffing services.
There are no clear estimates of what the H1N1 Virus will cost U.S. businesses. But spending time attempting to tally potential costs of the pandemic is probably not in your organization’s best interest.
So what should you do?
It may be more beneficial to your organization to concentrate on preventing panic and the spread of this illness. It is essential to reduce the risks to the health of your workforce and the financial impact to your company.
Reducing risks means decreasing the number of employees affected. To do that, you and your employees must put into practice the tips and advice health experts have been preaching for months.
Your employees, though, need to hear the message from you – their employer. Having company leaders and managers endorse steps to prevent the spread of the H1N1 Virus can be reassuring and will help employees take the issue more seriously.
To stay current, check with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and local health departments to find out about outbreaks in your community and other locations where your company has facilities.
We want to hear from you!
Findley Davies recently published a Client Advisory Bulletin on the H1N1 Virus, providing guidelines for organizations to use in responding to this pandemic.
Your comments here may help others…Has your organization been affected by the H1N1 Virus? If so, how have you responded? If not, what steps are you taking to protect your workforce? Or, are you not concerned that this will be an issue for your organization?