While Australia grapples with another wave of Omicron,
workplaces and employers are once again scrabbling to manage the gaps in their
workforce. No business is immune and the impact on businesses throughout the
nation has been enormous.
Long COVID is a new phenomenon to understand in this
pandemic. Whilst we’ve all heard reports about it, it’s interesting to review
what is known, and if there are any measures we can take as employers to
minimise the impact of COVID on our team members.
What is long COVID?
COVID-19 impacts everyone differently and most people will
completely recover after a few weeks. However, some people will still
experience one or more symptoms for longer than 12 weeks after their initial
infection. This is ‘long COVID’ and may look different for different people.
Symptoms may include:
- Extreme fatigue (tiredness)
- Shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest pain or tightness
- Problems with memory and concentration
- Changes to taste and smell
- Joint and muscle pain
The prevalence of long COVID is not yet known. In October 2021, an estimated 1.2million people in private households in the UK (1.9%) had self-reported
experiencing long COVID, with symptoms in two thirds of these individuals
having a detrimental impact on day-to-day activities. These changes can be quite debilitating and can severely
impede a person’s ability to work.
Who is most at risk?
At this stage, there is no specific treatment for this
condition however there do seem to be some factors associated with higher
reporting of long COVID symptoms.
- Older age
- Female sex
- White ethnicity
- Poor general and mental health pre-COVID-19
- Asthma
- Obesity/overweight
Can we prevent long COVID?
The jury is still out about what measures need to be taken
to reduce the risk of long COVID. One thing scientists do agree on is that
prevention is better than cure. Keeping up to date with vaccines and boosters
and being diligent about hygiene is still a must.
And when people do get COVID, ensure that individuals take
the time to get better. Also follow the latest health advice about returning to
exercise safely and advising your medical professional about any persistent
symptoms.
What can employers do about long COVID?
This is a new area and is already placing some individual
sufferers in financial crisis with no Government support available at this
point in time.
As employers, we will need to treat long COVID like any
other long-term illness and provide support for our employees.The UK’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, an
independent public body that receives funding from the government, has
developed the following guidelines for employers. These are common sense guidelines but do not really address
the bigger issue which is how can we manage long COVID in the longer term?
Especially if it will affect a significant proportion of our workforce.
There is no immediate solution. As with all risk, the aim is
to try and prevent our employees getting COVID but as this virus is all
pervading, we will just need to manage this new challenge as best we can. We'll keep you posted if we earn of any new updates in this area.