Should your business be planning for a pandemic?
Many businesses have not planned for operating while many employees are out sick.
Sometimes, this can just mean planning for continuing business with a few key employees missing. But the risks of a pandemic outbreak are another area of risk your business should plan for. There have been many epidemics in other countries recently, including Ebola and Zika, but experts say that the most likely culprit for a major pandemic would be influenza – the flu. There have been four past flu pandemics in the United States, the last one being the H1N1 pandemic in 2009.
The risk to your business from an influenza outbreak shouldn’t be ignored. If you plan for a possible pandemic now, you’ll be in better shape if there is ever another widespread outbreak of the flu or another illness.
What is a pandemic?
According to the World Health Organization, a pandemic occurs when a new disease spreads worldwide. The most common types of pandemics happen with new strains of the influenza virus, or viruses that have evolved from animal influenza strains.
An influenza pandemic is different from the flu season. Every year, usually from December to February, the flu spreads but we have some immunity from it because of previous exposure and vaccination. An influenza pandemic is much more severe because most people have no immunity to the new strain.
How can your business be prepared?
Here is a checklist of things your business should do to prepare for a possible pandemic. These include
The best way to be prepared is doing your part to mitigate the risks of a flu outbreak. Your business can do so by encouraging influenza vaccines as a part of your employee health and wellness plan. You can make it even easier by having a flu shot provider come to your office to administer the vaccine.
A lot of this preparation has to do with business continuity – figuring out how to continue providing services when employees are sick. Business continuity planning will help you minimize the cost of a pandemic to your business.
What are the benefits of preparing for a pandemic?
Every flu season costs the United States around $ 10.4 billion in costs for hospitalizations and outpatient visits and $16.3 billion in lost earnings due to illness. The projected cost for a pandemic will be much higher. Researchers at the University of Hawai’i, University of California and Harvard University recently estimated that the cost to the United States of a global influenza pandemic would be $500 billion per year.
By preparing now for a pandemic, you can somewhat minimize the portion of this cost that your business will bear. While no business can prepare with total certainty, you will be in much better financial shape if you know how to continue providing your products and services during a pandemic.
To learn more about employee health and wellness, check out our free e-book below.
