After the near-hysteria that accompanied the thuds as people crashed to office floors left, right and centre, or spent whole working days in the loos, it's something of a relief to hear that the dreaded Novovirus doesn't after all signal the end of the world as we know it ....
New figures from the Health Protection Agency show that, despite all the hype, Novovirus infections this winter were no higher than in the previous two years - in fact, the number of confirmed cases up to the end of 2007 fell sharply. Provided we don't have a second peak, the duration of the outbreak will actually be shorter than that in 2002, the worst recorded year to date. According to Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, the hysteria surrounding the virus may have helped minimise its impact by encouraging good hygiene.
So - if we haven't had an epidemic, what is keeping staff off work, in this darkest and most dismal of months? More than 3.6 million workers – 12.5% of the working population – are currently off work sick, according to FirstCare, the absence management provider. And most of those who have called FirstCare are complaining of the gastrointestinal symptoms associated with Novovirus.
This trend has several implications. It’s possible that employees are not genuinely ill – does the compulsion to call in sick mask more serious problems that need to be addressed by the HR team? And in the case of genuine poor health, the implications extend well beyond the ill member of staff. Who is covering for him in his absence? Is the overall standard of work suffering? How have clients been affected?
Many larger organisations have contingency plans in case of large-scale accidents or terrorists attacks, but do their business continuity plans allow for epidemics?
