What kind of absenteeism might a workplace expect during a pandemic and how should it be addressed?
The Conference Board of Canada (2009) suggests there are four groups of employees that need to be considered in terms of absenteeism: Employees showing symptoms of illness who want to stay home: • Cover employees under the organization’s sick leave policy. • Organizations should review policies to ensure they are up to date and structured to deal with expected absenteeism rates. Employees not showing symptoms but unwilling to come to work: • Ensure employees feel safe in their work environment. • Review policies and procedures about cleaning and disinfection of work areas to help employees feel safer in their environment. See Question 6 for information from Ottawa Public Health about cleaning and disinfection of commonly touched surfaces. • Promote flu vaccine to employees to increase their level of immunity against the virus. • Reassign work for vulnerable populations (e.g., pregnant women) to facilitate social distancing for those who do not feel secure working with large groups duri
