Harvard survey: American businesses unprepared for swine flu

According to a Harvard study, North American businesses are not prepared to deal with widespread employee absenteeism in the wake of the swine flu's return this season.

The H1N1 swine flu virus is quickly returning to the northern hemisphere, and while school districts and hospitals and households around the world are preparing for the worst, a Harvard study has found that businesses in North America are largely not ready to absorb the productivity losses that the virus will inevitably generate in the weeks and months to come. The Harvard School of Public Health released the study on Wednesday - questioning 1,000 businesses nationwide - and the findings pointed to a lack of planning on the part of business operations strategists. Two-thirds of the businesses would not be able to maintain their day-to-day operations if half of their staff were sick for more than two weeks - and only 35 percent of the businesses surveyed offer paid leave for employees who are forced to take care of their sick family members. "What we found is that a minority of businesses have started some sort of emergency planning," Robert Blendon, a professor of health policy and leader of the project sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press. "Most, I don't think, have thought through the implications of something so widespread." While the first wave of the virus did not have any impact on business operations - having struck in out-of-season late spring periods - the second wave is projected to significantly interrupt normal operations as millions become ill in the fall and winter months. The impact on the already-fragile U.S. economy is not yet known. The survey also found that other practices should likely be made more flexible. For example, 70 percent of surveyed businesses require a doctor's in order to allow swine flu victims to return to work - but the CDC is now recommending that this rule be waived, as the H1N1 pandemic will likely overtax doctor's facilities. The bottom line is that the bottom line has changed. American businesses are being advised to adapt now or deal with a considerably more difficult climate later - and this adaptation is being considered during an incredibly difficult economic period.