By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady
Bob Brady weighs the possible impact of swine flu on the workplace, and he invites you to a special audio conference on steps you can take to prepare.
There’s been no shortage of bad news for employers lately—the economy, EFCA, you name it. Now it appears that we’re facing a threat of a different sort: Swine flu. Just what we need—another “pandemic.” Is it hysteria or a real threat?
As of 11 a.m. Thursday, April 30, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were reporting 109 cases in the U.S., and the first U.S. swine flu-related death (in Texas). The numbers have undoubtedly gone up since then. The World Health Organization had raised the alert level to Phase 5, just one level beneath a full-blown pandemic.
Properly implemented, your pandemic plan can help limit the flu’s impact on employee health—and the economic health of your organization. Join us for a comprehensive audio conference on May 11th, and find out what you need to know. Learn More
Just how serious is this? Could it be something like the epidemic of 1918, which killed an estimated 50 million people?
For a very interesting read on the 1918 pandemic, check out The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry.
The book makes the case that if it hadn’t been wartime, with huge numbers of troops from rural areas being transferred all over the world, the epidemic would not have been nearly so severe. There was a “perfect storm” of a highly contagious virus, concentrated populations, and people without resistance, all coupled with lots of people moving around all over the globe. They took the flu from the U.S. to Europe and Asia, and then brought it back in a new, virulent strain.
Not the same world
We have some of those factors in place today, but not all, and our health systems are vastly better. So, in my humble opinion, the likelihood of a 1918-magnitude event is slim, indeed. The world is not the same.
Employers face competing and complicated legal issues when planning for a pandemic. Join us on May 11th when our expert—a former OSHA head and member of the White House Committee for Pandemic Planning and Emergency Preparedness—will explain the science behind swine flu, how a pandemic could affect your workplace, and the steps you must take now to prepare for it. Learn More
However, you can say the same thing for the mortgage collapse that has led to our economic woes. The probabilities were low, but the bankers who were smart enough to recognize the danger—no matter how remote—are the ones doing OK today.
According to a 2007 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, cities that reacted quickly to the 1918 virus had relatively fewer deaths than those that acted slowly or took fewer precautions.
With anything as serious as this, some sort of basic planning is important and will certainly pay off in the long term.
Experts are recommending that employers:
- Familiarize themselves with the symptoms of swine flu, which are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Unlike regular flu, swine flu has also been associated with diarrhea and vomiting.
- Implement guidelines to modify the frequency and type of face-to-face contact among employees, and between employees and customers.
- Post signs reminding employees to cover their mouths and noses when sneezing or coughing, and to wash their hands often.
- Plan ahead for employee absences caused by personal illness, family member illness, community containment measures and quarantines, school and/or business closures, and public transportation closures.
One of the most important steps you can take as an employer is discouraging dangerous “presenteeism.” Make sure that sick employees stay home from work and promptly seek appropriate medical care.
Audio conference, May 11
To help address your concerns, we’ve put together a special audio conference on May 11 featuring Edwin G. Foulke, a former OSHA head and member of the White House Committee for Pandemic Planning and Emergency Preparedness. Foulke will explain the science behind swine flu, how a pandemic could affect your workplace, and the steps you should take now to prepare for it. He’ll also be taking your questions at the end of the call.
There is a charge. If you are interested in attending, you can register here or call 800-727-5257.
That’s my e-pinion. I’d love to hear yours. Rbrady@blr.com
I have to question whether all this is real. We’re starting to see hints that this is not quite the scare we think it is. You’ll recall that the original scare was generated by “hundreds of deaths” reported in Mexico. The WHO now reports but 9. Apparently the Mexican authorities couldn’t put real bodies to numbers.
This may very well turn out to be a very mild strain of flu which will not even approximate a “normal” flu season in terms of cases contracted or deaths. Critical thinking at many levels (including the vice president) seems to be missing.
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No doubt the swine flu presents challenges, but at the same time, HR
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