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The CIDRAP H1N1 summit this past week was a fascinating experience.
One that was a genuine thrill to be a part of.
It brought together representatives from the government, Business & Industry, Health Care, and the media over 2 days, where we discussed hundreds of pandemic problems and possible solutions.
For businesses of all types, the biggest concern was the toll that employee absenteeism would have on their operations.
During the plenary sessions (attended by all), each table was provided with remote control voting devices for each person, which enabled us to take part in live polling.
Robert Roos of CIDRAP News brings us some of the results of that polling.
Biggest pandemic worry for business: absenteeism
Robert Roos
News Editor
Sep 25, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – Business officials who attended a conference this week on how the business world can cope with the H1N1 influenza pandemic said employee absenteeism was far and away their leading concern.
In live polling conducted during a conference plenary session, 81% of the attendees said their greatest concern about the pandemic was absenteeism. Only 13% said they were most worried about disruption of critical supply chains.
The conference drew around 300 people to downtown Minneapolis this week. It was hosted by the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), publisher of CIDRAP News.
About a third of the attendees were from the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector, while 22% were in manufacturing, 14% in government, and 5% in financial services, according to a poll at the opening session.
While companies voiced concern about absenteeism, there was little agreement about just how much to expect. In a Wednesday morning poll, 21% of respondents said they expect peak absenteeism of 21% to 30%, while 12% expected a rate of 31% to 40%. Eighteen percent expected absenteeism to be less than 21%, while 36% percent declined to specify a range.
