Russell Bell: My message for businesses as winter illnesses start to bite

Businesses need to be prepared for the impacts of winter illnesses on staff and customers, writes Russell Bell. Photo / 123rf

OPINION

So, over the past few days, the net of Omicron has felt like it is ever closing.

The number of people that I know or work with who have recently experienced Covid-19 is increasing exponentially this time around.

From work desks being empty to cancelled band gigs, this wave feels quite in our faces.

Thankfully, all my vaccinated friends have had "mild" symptoms, and it has to be said, the wide range of symptoms people have experienced is pretty curious.

Although I am tempting fate by writing a column about my, so far, avoidance of the infection (and quite how we are achieving this as a family with schools not having mandatory masks is nothing short of miraculous) I am grateful that some of the tactics that I have employed continue to work.

But we have had some false alarms mainly from Junior Bell, whose best friend caught it the week before school holidays and then last week we isolated him due to, what turned out to be, strep throat. (It will come as no surprise that we have all lined up for our influenza vaccinations).

The message for businesses, their staff and owners, is to be as prepared as you can be for what will possibly be a winter of discontent in terms of illness.

The onset of multiple viral waves is an unfortunate circumstance of locking ourselves away for two years and then opening up to the world.

And this is not to criticise that decision but it was one that, like many since March 2020, came too late.

However, we must all be prepared for illness impacting our operations (in much the same way as businesses need to prepare for inflation and rising interest rates).

So now is the time to think about staff wellbeing and wellness and also put in place mitigating controls to ensure you don't get landed with a sucker punch (like Liverpool was on Sunday morning against Real Madrid).

Some of these controls are relatively easy to implement. Mask wearing, while inconvenient at times, should be encouraged so as to avoid one person or visitor taking out a large portion of your team. Then there is encouraging your team to look after themselves from the perspective of stress and taking breaks.

Finally, there is the breaking of the "soldier on" concept.

So ingrained by annoying jingles for a cough medicine brand. Given that the experiences of 2020 and 2021 are still fresh in the mind, I find it unbelievable that remedy manufacturers and marketers are still pushing the line "I feel unwell, but I will take this remedy and get on with life", while exposing my co-workers to colds, flu and unnatural pathogens.

Kindness in the workplace now extends to keeping our bugs to ourselves, and rightly so.

And while I still think seven days' Omicron isolation for your household is OTT, there is sense in staying away and with the technology we now have, for many service-based industries it is actually quite easy to soldier on if you want to, but at home.

So, look after yourself, get exercise, and if you feel unwell stay at home to recover. And if you are a business owner, prepare your plan B for dealing with absences, so that their impact can be mitigated and their effect minimised.