April is here, and with it a definite chill in the air. And we all know what that means… we’re heading into cold and flu season (assuming we avoid the next Coronavirus wave) and the associated levels of absenteeism and sick leave that come with flu season.
The annual flu season in SA
South Africa usually experiences an annual winter flu epidemic. And with the flu comes sneezing, coughing and congestion, to name just a few of the common symptoms.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) the timing of the South African flu season varies slightly from year to year but usually occurs between May and August.
Covid-19’s effect on the 2020 flu season
However, did you notice that I said, “usually experiences an annual winter flu epidemic”? Thanks to anti-COVID efforts, experts said that South Africa “didn’t have a flu season’ in 2020.
Three separate labs screen people at random and usually record more than 1,000 flu cases. In 2020 there was only one reported case of the flu virus from those labs.
“What happened was completely unprecedented and unexpected,” said Dr. Cheryl Cohen, co-head of the NICD’s Centre for Respiratory Disease and Meningitis. She believes that pandemic protection measures – such as social distancing, hand sanitisation and masks – made a real difference to the 2020 flu season.
The 2021 flu season
Interestingly, in 2021, the flu season shifted and was experienced much later in the year, starting in August and running through to November.
“The increase in influenza in the summer, which is not the typical time for the influenza season, is likely the result of relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions to control COVID-19, combined with an immunity gap due to influenza not circulating for two years (2020 and 2021) in South Africa (as a result of these interventions),” said Dr. Cohen.
This change in the flu season is a clear indication that pandemic protection measures do work, and that maintaining a focus on good hygiene protocols is still important for our health and wellbeing.
What does absenteeism cost businesses?
According to the most recent data on absenteeism published in the Momentum Effective Employee Index in September 2021, lost productive work time costs the South African economy around R38 billion a year.
That is a truly staggering figure, equating to 13 days per employee per year or more than 128 million days per year.
Around half of this can be seen as “excessive absenteeism” meaning the amount of days employees are absent is over and above the reasonable amount expected for companies based on their size.
Absenteeism is an expensive problem
Of course, not all of that absenteeism is cause by colds and flu. Sick absenteeism should run at about 1.5%. This means that for every 250 working days per year, the average employee should take 3.75 days off sick.
Most South African companies have an overall absenteeism rate of between 3.5% and 6%. This is way over the acceptable limit and equates roughly to between 8 and 15 days per colleague per year. In an office of just 50 colleagues, this would equate to approximately 400 to 750 productive days lost annually to sickness.
And a study by the Global Hygiene Council of more than 9 000 people across 17 countries – including South Africa – showed that the average person misses 4.5 days of work because of upper respiratory illnesses (mostly, the common cold), and this costs the economy around R2 billion every year.
Costs associated with absenteeism include:
- Wages paid to absent employees
- Wages for temporary employees to fill in for absent colleagues
- Overtime pay for employees filling in
- Inferior quality of goods and services due to less productive casual labour
- Low morale and dissatisfaction by employees who witness continuous absenteeism by colleagues
- Additional management time required for finding and training temporary staff
Keeping employees healthy makes good business sense
Poor hand hygiene is still the major spreader of common office illnesses such as colds, flu and Norovirus. Businesses need to ensure they have the right solutions in place to promote an integrated hygiene strategy across the company. These includes good quality soap from dispensers, hand drying equipment, hand sanitiser stations and an air purification solution in place.
Investing in good hygiene solutions is just one way of bringing those sick days back in line with the industry average. Can you really afford not to?
Ambius can help you create a hygienic, welcoming work place that includes indoor plants, hand sanitising stations and air purification solutions. Contact our experts today for a free quote.
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