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This recently released, think tank-produced white paper takes a look at how Long Covid is affecting people and companies, as well as what management can do to address and accommodate the resulting issues
According to this research, more than 4 out of 10 adults in the US claim to have been infected by COVID and nearly 1 in 5 of them have ongoing symptoms. In total, 1 out of every 13 US adults appear to be experiencing what has been labeled Long Covid, which is defined by continuing Covid symptoms for more than 3 months following initial infection.
Further, the study notes that 80% of people experiencing Long Covid have at least some difficulty in completing day-to-day tasks, so not only will their health and well-being take a serious hit, but so will your company’s productivity.
Long Covid can be particularly costly in terms of health care contributions, as well, given that it is both a chronic and novel condition about which much is still being learned. For example, the average health care spend per employee was about $2,655 for employees with Long Covid, which was about 26% higher than the health care expenses per employee with diabetes.
It’s predicted that employers will ultimately spend an additional $9,000 per employee with Long Covid when compared to employees who were infected with Covid but did not have their symptoms extend beyond the normal period.
With those kinds of stats and figures, it’s more likely than not that some percentage of the employees at your company will experience this long-term affliction and that it’s going to negatively affect your bottom line. With this understanding in mind, the question becomes less about if it will happen than when, and how will you prepare in advance in order to best address the needs of both the employee and the company when the time comes.
One way to prepare is to be aware of how the condition is likely to affect employees, which includes both performance-centric symptoms like slower task completion, the propensity to make simple errors, and difficulty with routine. Physical and psychological effects like sensitivity to light and noise and/or outward displays of anxiety, frustration, and anger as a result are also common symptoms.
Companies and HR professionals would also be wise to proactively look into updating their own internal policies to make sure they are in sync with the performance and tangential issues they can reasonably expect from the likely wave of employees experiencing this form of chronic illness that they will be managing.
That said, because Long Covid is a relatively newly defined condition with a wide range of symptoms that can vary in expression and severity, it can be difficult for those suffering from it to obtain a formal diagnosis in many cases still, so the authors of the paper stress the need for flexibility in how employees with Long Covid are best managed, for both the sake of the employee and the company.
For example, while employers will certainly need medical substantiation for employees with Long Covid cases that are more severe and may ultimately lead to disability claims, employers might be well-served to forgo a formal diagnosis requirement for milder cases that may be difficult to substantiate before enabling employees to access the care they seek, which will likely lead to increased wellness and productivity to everyone’s mutual benefit.
For those employees that plan and are able to continue working despite their condition, there are many considerations and accommodations through which employers and employees can optimize work expectations, environment, and efficiency.
First, acknowledgement on the part of employers that employees will feel differently and that it won’t simply be “business as usual” is a good first step, along with providing the mental health support necessary for the employee to adapt and acknowledge the changes they are facing, too.
Some other, concrete accommodations for employees whose Long Covid symptoms include fatigue include scooters and/or wheelchairs, especially if the office floor plan is large; ergonomic and pneumatic furniture, tools, and equipment when applicable; flexible schedule and telework options when possible; and periodic breaks.
If you manage employees who experience memory loss and/or brain fog as a result of Long Covid, some potential accommodations include training refreshers, additional time to complete tasks, electronic organization tools, a system of reminders, written/recorded messages and task directives, and job coaching.
For employees whose Long Covid manifests at least in part as light sensitivity, on the other hand, the use of alternative, non-fluorescent and/or LED filters; anti-glare filters; added light shades/shields; and simulated skylights/windows are potential accommodations that may be worth considering.
Beyond accommodating employees who stay on the job throughout, there is also a separate set of challenges that comes with bringing employees who had been out on medical leave back into the fold upon their return to work.
To best process and support the reentry of employees whose Long Covid had led to an extended absence from the job, one recommended route is first implementing tests in order to evaluate and ensure the employee’s cognitive and physical fitness for duty, followed by work-hardening/conditioning programs to make sure the employee has built back the requisite endurance to complete the tasks required of them. Once the employee is satisfactorily capable, bring them back into company workflow with a graduated schedule in tune with the pace of each employee’s abilities.
Of course no matter the extent of planning there are always going to be situations that occur that are unanticipated by any given employer, which is one of the main advantages that come with seeking the guidance of a third-party vendor like a disability insurance broker or TPA who has direct experience with how other, similarly-situated employers have responded when they’ve faced the same or an analogous problem.
Brokers and others with the ability to gain perspective on how Long Covid is playing out across a number of different companies/industries at the same time will likely remain the preeminent source of expertise on these issues with regard to workforce management for some time given that no additional guidance is expected from the government on these issues in the short term and that the current disability system is not well-suited to deal with Long Covid occurrences throughout a substantial portion of the workforce.
As a final note, the authors did raise one additional point that could easily fly under the radar when company leadership and HR professionals are making preparations for how to confront these challenges, which in fact involves the employees who don’t have Long Covid.
Anytime special accommodations are being made for one subset of employees - especially if those accommodations apply to a significant proportion of employees - there is always the possibility that the other employees who don’t see a direct benefit from said accommodations react negatively.
While there may be little to do other than emphasizing the company’s commitment to workplace inclusivity and accommodation, which may very well benefit aggrieved employees in the future, it may be a good idea to keep an eye out for these kinds of problems so that they may be identified and resolved before they worsen.
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