Kiwi businesses must prepare for manpower shortages in the spring and beyond in the event that the COVID-19 Omicron variant enters the country and causes widespread infection.
This warning was issued by Otago University professor Michael Baker, who said that the highly infectious Omicron variant will lead to highly increased absences among workers.
“If and when Omicron gets here, it is going to really add to the burden of absenteeism this year,” Baker told Stuff. “Also, if the borders are open, we would be expecting a more severe flu season and the other respiratory infections that dominate in winter.”
According to Baker, if New Zealand opens its borders with Australia in March as planned, it could lead to a rapid spread of the Omicron variant and cause high levels of absenteeism for several months. Despite observations that Omicron tends to cause milder illness than other variants, it is also extremely infections.
“We could see many months of disruption,” Baker said.
As such, Baker said that all customer-facing workers should be vaccinated and receive a booster shot. Frequent testing may also be helpful, he said.
Other measures Baker put forward include dividing staff performing critical functions into two teams isolated from each other, in order to preserve business continuity.
While the Omicron variant has yet to take a hold in New Zealand, the huge disruptions it has caused in Europe, the US and Australia paint a grim picture of what could happen when it enters New Zealand.
Improved access to rapid antigen tests can help employers manage the surge in COVID cases and ensuing employee absences, BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said.
Hope expects an uptick in people using their sick leaves this year.
“There’s no doubt from what we understand about Omicron that it will start to have an impact on the availability of the workforce,” Hope said.
Using rapid antigen tests can help give employers guidance on whether workers that may have been exposed to COVID would need to self-isolate, he said. However, this is contingent on clearer guidelines from the government on the various self-isolation criteria.
