Companies show disturbing lack of pandemic readiness - Workplace Wellness Blog by Wellergize

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Blog Overview Blogger Profiles Event Calendar You can also visit our other sites: EmployeeWellness.ca WellnessFair.ca Workplace Wellness Info on NaturalHealthcare.ca	\| Share: \| more Companies show disturbing lack of pandemic readiness Quarter of firms in survey say planning for impact of H1N1 virus in the workplace was not a priority. Surveys have recently revealed that only some businesses are making preparations to ensure that despite the flu season they can still carry on with business. Two surveys have found that most small businesses are not prepared and have no plans if employees were to be absent due to H1N1. The surveys have reveals that only a few workplaces have a plan. A survey by Bank of Montreal found 82% of Canadian small businesses do not have a health-related continuity plan. "When you consider the potential risk to business, this low level of preparedness is disturbing," said Cathy Pin, vice-president of commercial banking. About 25% of survey respondents said that having a plan was not their priority. American Express Canada also surveyed people and found 40% of respondents also said having a plan was a low priority. An example of a company who does have a plan is Telus Corp. They focus on communicating with employees. Telus has a special section on their internal website with information about H1N1 and flu updates. They also provide employees with links to government authorities. "Our overall plan goes back two or three decades. We updated it for SARS and we updated it for H1N1," Hall said. "Companies that plan for any eventuality tend to survive crises. Companies that look at that as a luxury tend to fail." For Telus, if employees are absent from work they are able to work from home by using another site from their laptops, video and audio conferencing, and a virtual private network that keeps the company information safe and secure. Telus advises employees who show flu-like symptoms or even mild ones to stay home and work. In British Columbia and Alberta employees are cross-trained to that they can cover for co-workers who are absent. "That means those technical teams don't feel like they need to be the hero and come in and infect the rest of the team," Hall said. The above is an example of a plan for major absences. Not all organizations need to follow the same plan, but cater it to their priorities in case of an emergency. Businesses need to consider the top issues for them if an outbreak of the flu or H1N1 were to occur. Some things businesses need to consider is clarifying company policy and assessing whether they have the technology for employees to work remotely. There is no cookie cutter solution for being prepared, but organizations do need to devise a solution if they want to survive in the current economic environment. Source (please note, some articles are only available for a limited time.) Posted by: suhujitha on 2009-11-06 19:44:38 Subscribe to the feed Direct Link to this post Next post: Offering support is the best medicine for a stressed worker 2012-02-07 09:29:21 Other posts tagged H1N1, flu, working from home, business continuity, planning, small business, communication, policies, technology, absenteeism, sick days, polls: · [Offering support is the best medicine for a stressed worker] · [Sky light sky bright -- inside your office] · [Unhealthy eating: a new form of occupational hazard?] · [Study finds most paramedics are victims of abuse in the workplace] · [African-American men do not reap same career benefits from mentoring as Caucasians] · [New technology to facilitate lying and sitting more comfortably] · [Your abusive boss may not be good for your marriage] · [Smoke-free workplaces reduce heart attacks] · [Employers need to tackle culture of ignorance around breast cancer survivors who work] · [Taking steps to prevent employees from going postal] · [Workplace sabotage fueled by envy, unleashed by disengagement] Don't forget: there is a search box on every page! 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