Just a few days ago, federal officials urged businesses and employers to prepare for a widespread outbreak of swine flu this fall that could spark an unusually high rate of employee absenteeism. The flu outbreak—which still remains unpredictable---could potentially leave many important posts empty during a time of economic recovery. 

 

Officials encouraged cross-training employees to ensure that vital functions were attended to, just in case.   They also cited the importance of curtailing face-to-face meetings during the instance of a swine flu outbreak, as well as limiting company travel, and keeping sick workers at home. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitan urged businesses to “be responsible and understanding for the absenteeism that needs to occur with this strain of the flu.”

 

Tom Thompson, of the Deloitte (News - Alert) Center for Health Solutions, estimates that only a fifth of U.S. Companies “are in good position in terms of being able to react – and even those are going to have to restructure and improve their plans.” According to consultants, a new flu outbreak would make communication difficult, threatening supply chains and the production and delivery of goods. 

 

Today, businesses can take steps to improve their communication and information technology infrastructures to buffer the effect of an outbreak on their daily operations. One of these steps is switching to a business VoIP service like OnSIP, which allows contagious employees full access to the business communications network of their company from their homes. The flexibility and features of this service makes it suitable for companies that are spread out and allows for employees to be just as efficient when they are apart as they are clumped together, without the risk of spreading illnesses among their peers.