Telework Can Prevent Swine Flu

Growing concerns about a swine flu pandemic highlights one of the major advantages of telework, telecommuting and work from home programs: you won’t get sick if you aren’t exposed.

Concerns about what would happen in the event of a flu pandemic places telework at the cornerstone of U.S. government agencies’ disaster response plan. Disaster preparedness is a hot topic with private employers as well.

Studies show that unscheduled absences cost employers an average of $1,800 per employee per year. For the nation’s largest employers, the cost of unscheduled absences can run in the millions, and even more when the effects on productivity, revenue, and morale are considered.

More to the point those studies show that people with flexible work arrangements are less likely to have health problems that affect their job performance, and when they do get sick, they often continue to work from when their feeling bad, and get back to works sooner when they’re so sick they can’t work at all for a while.

Companies and government agencies simply aren’t prepared for a pandemic because they haven’t practiced having large portions of their staff work at home on a regular basis. For more on the topic, take a look at our April 30, 2009 press release: Companies and Government Telecommuting Programs Unprepared for Swine Flu Pandemic.