Studies explore working in a pandemic, working sick

[Guest guest]

Studies explore working in a pandemic, working sick

Schnirring * Staff Writer

Sep 30, 2010 (CIDRAP News) – A new study suggests that about half of essential

workers, such as police and emergency medical personnel, might be unwilling to

work during a serious pandemic. Meanwhile, another study indicates that it's

common for employees in private industry to work while sick with flu-like

symptoms.

Both studies were published on Sep 25 in an early online edition of the Journal

of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

In the first study, the goals of researchers from Columbia University's Mailman

School of Public Health were to assess the ability and willingness to work

specifically during a pandemic and to gauge the opinions of not just healthcare

workers, but also—for the first time—workers from other essential sectors such

as police, emergency services personnel, public health workers, and corrections

officers.

Researchers in the second study conducted a monthly survey of workers from three

US companies to explore if flexible sick leave policies influenced employee

decisions to work while sick with a flu-like illness.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has addressed both

topics—risky work settings and flexible sick leave policies as a possible social

distancing measure—in its pandemic guidance materials for employers.

Working in a severe pandemic setting

The Columbia University researchers recruited workers from Nassau County, in the

New York City metropolitan area. The anonymous surveys asked employees about

their ability and willingness to work during a serious pandemic. It was

conducted from November 2008 to June 2009, a time that overlapped the first few

months of the H1N1 pandemic. The survey also asked workers about their flu

vaccination history, respiratory protection knowledge and use, workplace climate

and trust, and employer pandemic planning.

They found that though 80% of workers would be available to report for duty in a

severe pandemic, only 65% were willing. Less than 50% of the essential workers

were both willing and able to report for duty. The proportion who said they were

willing ranged from 56% in correctional workers to 74% in public health

employees.

Investigators found that ability to work during a severe pandemic was closely

linked to personal obligations, such as caring for children or sick family

members.

Dr Robyn Gershon, professor of clinical sociomedical sciences at Columbia's

Mailman School of Public Health, said in a Sep 28 press release that employer

policies and programs can help workers meet their home obligations. " Even

something as simple as making sure workers can communicate with their families

while they are on duty can have a big impact on ability and willingness, " she

said.

Among other findings, authors learned that participants had little confidence in

respiratory protection, but would wear it at work in a pandemic setting. Only 9%

reported they were aware of their employers' pandemic plans, and only 15% said

they had received training.

In what they called a surprising finding, the group found that 12% of study

participants would consider retiring or leaving their jobs rather than reporting

for duty in a severe pandemic. They said that outcome is a concern, due to a

rapidly aging US workforce, many of whom are public service workers. " The

development of strategies to retain these most experienced workers during public

health emergencies remains an area for future exploration, " they wrote.

The authors recommended other simple strategies that employers can use to boost

employee support during a pandemic, including a plan to vaccinate essential

workers and their families as soon as a vaccine is available, getting guidance

in advance about respiratory protection needs, and making sure employees know

about the workplace pandemic plan.

The study group included many workers who were involved in the response to the

Sep 11, 2001, World Trade Center terror attack, and the authors wrote that they,

like other workers in the area, are " highly motivated and altruistic. " They

cautioned that other workers in other areas might not be as responsive, and they

recommended that further studies include essential employees in other geographic

areas along with other types of essential workers, such as those in

telecommunications, transportation, and commerce.

Which policies keep sick employees home?

In the flexible sick leave study, researchers recruited employees from three

large US firms—a retail chain, a durable goods manufacturer, and a

transportation company—and used a Web-based survey tool that asked them each

month between November 2007 and April 2008 about flulike illnesses and workplace

attendance. They also collected demographic information and details about

employer-provided flexible sick leave policies, such as ability to work from

home, adjustable working hours, or time off without pay.

Among 793 employees who said they were sick with a flulike illness, average

duration of a severe infection was 3 days. About 72% said they worked while they

had severe flu symptoms, on average for about 1.3 days.

The only flexible sick leave policy that was associated with working while sick

was the ability to work from home. Those who were able to telecommute were 29.7%

less likely to come to work sick with severe flu symptoms.

Researchers pointed out that the study is one of the first evaluations of the

CDC's recommendation to institute flexible workplace policies in advance of flu

season.

They recognized that though social distancing makes sense, employers who are

setting their personnel policies must weigh possible unintended consequences of

telecommuting, such as shirking work responsibilities, against the drawbacks of

working while sick.

However, they wrote that the ability to work from home minimizes the economic

impact of the employee being away from the workplace.

The group concluded that the findings support CDC social distancing

recommendations for flu seasons. " When feasible, employers that implement

teleworking policies may be able to effectively reduce the likelihood of

employee-to-employee transmission of respiratory illnesses, such as seasonal of

pandemic influenza, " they wrote.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/general/news/sep3010worker-br\

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