Long-term implications of COVID-19 

Summary:

The impact of COVID-19 on workplace health is complex, but gaining an understanding of the relationship may help us prepare better for future health crises. 

It is just over two years since the first documented cases of COVID-19 were reported in the UK (30 January 2020)¹. The disease has caused more than 150,000 UK deaths and 670,000 hospitalisations, and has had a dramatic, and complex, impact on work and occupational health. In 2020, COVID-19 accounted for 14% of all sickness absence spells in the UK, yet the national absence rate fell to just 1.8%; the lowest since comparable records began in 19952. Social distancing, shielding and homeworking when possible are thought to have helped reduce the common causes of absence²..
 

 John Ballard, editor 

Author: Ballard J

Tags COVID-19 sickness absence

Occupational Health at Work February/March 2022 (vol. 18/5) pp03

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