Managing Omicron and Its Impact on Ongoing Worker Shortages
January 10, 2022Omicron Outbreaks Could Prompt Increased Pandemic Worker Shortages; Are You Prepared?
Pandemic worker shortages can bring your organization’s productivity to a halt. Businesses should be currently working to address the renewed concerns related to Omicron in North America. This COVID-19 variant will likely prompt extensive worker shortages and challenge your productivity well into the first quarter of the new year. Omicron presents another hurdle for business owners wishing to secure a successful economic bounce back after a challenging 2021.
Your pre-emptive effort to manage an Omicron outbreak can help ensure your workers remain safe heading into a year of increased uncertainty. Business owners must also prepare for shortages with temporary workers that can keep business rolling if an Omicron outbreak occurs at your job site.
Omicron, Worker Shortages, and What Business Owners Need to Know
The fight against COVID-19 is not over.
Senior leadership should know that even fully vaccinated workers are vulnerable to contracting Omicron and spreading it to others. Job sites that require their workers to be in close contact with one another or the general public should be aware that Omicron can spread more easily than the original variant. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), those infected with Omicron can pass the virus to others, even if they are fully vaccinated or are not showing any signs or symptoms.
Omicron has been known to cause “breakthrough infections,” meaning that fully vaccinated people can become ill from contracting this COVID-19 variant. Despite these challenges, business owners that employ workforces still have a moral and legal obligation to ensure the wellbeing of their workforce. The results of sending employees to a job site only to become ill could be disastrous for business owners.
There is a need for business owners to balance the needs of the company while working to ensure the safety of employees. Failure to address your duty of care obligations can result in a long list of HR and litigious complications that can cost far more than any pre-emptive efforts.
How Can Businesses Stay Productive While Experiencing Omicron Worker Shortages?
Business leaders should know that even if their entire workforce is fully vaccinated, they could still experience an Omicron outbreak. An outbreak within the workplace can result in widespread shutdowns, lengthy quarantines, and even more complicated labor shortages.
Methods including social distancing, face mask use, and routine handwashing can help slow the spread of this variant and ensure workforces remain productive despite rising local case numbers. The CDC recommends vaccine booster shots that can reduce the transmission of the virus, prevent severe illness and hospitalizations, and lessen death tolls. Business owners should consider advanced screening and testing of their workforce as well in order to slow the spread of Omicron.
What Industries are Most Vulnerable to Omicron Outbreaks?
Industries of all kinds, including logistics, supply chains, grocery, manufacturing, and healthcare, are highly vulnerable to Omicron outbreaks and should take every measure possible to ensure the safety of staff and those they serve.
Further, oil, natural gas, precious metals, and mining industries run the risk of experiencing an Omicron outbreak if proper measures are not taken.
AFIMAC Solutions
Businesses are encouraged to rely on temporary labor services to address complex worker shortages and ensure productivity even during complications related to Omicron. Temporary workforces can be deployed in a matter of hours and tackle volatile swings in demand while helping to secure your supply chain. Should your workforce experience a complicated Omicron outbreak, temporary labor services can step in to meet the needs of your supply chain.
AFIMAC Global has worked closely alongside many Fortune 500 companies to address their duty of care needs, including screening, testing, and access control systems that slow the spread of COVID-19, keeping staff healthy and productive.
Contact AFIMAC directly to learn about the many solutions available to business owners experiencing labor shortages due to Omicron complications.
