The Business Impact of Cold and Flu Season: Costs and Solutions to Consider

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Nearly every year, some of your employees will become ill with a cold or the flu, and it will prevent them from working. While you can't avoid flu season, you can prepare for it and combat its effect on your business. With other viruses out there, like COVID-19, preparing for the spike in sickness each season can help mitigate your losses and keep your employees motivated.

Keep reading to learn more about preparing for this cold and flu season and find solutions to make the season easier on your business.

When Is Flu Season?

Anyone can get sick at any time of the year, but flu season means an influx of people calling out of work and utilizing their sick days. Every year, the strains change, and the timeframe for sickness can vary.

"You can never pinpoint how long the flu season will impact your business. You just have to assume the worst and take the proper precautions to keep the business running," says Jack Carrere, CEO and Co-Founder of Prokeep.

Flu season typically starts in October, with peak sickness between December and January, though it can last all the way through April. In parts of the world that see harsher winters, the flu season lasts longer as people's immune systems are at a higher risk and people are inside more often. Whether you're a small business or a large-scale company, preparing for flu season can help limit future losses.

How Does Cold and Flu Season Impact Businesses?

Businesses risk losing employees, customers, and revenue each flu season. Certain long-term side effects of flu season can hit some companies harder than others, so be prepared for the worst.

"Flu costs the U.S. approximately $10.4 billion in direct costs for hospitalizations and outpatient visits for adults," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states. As people get sick each year as a result of the flu, they call out and use sick time, and in some cases, become hospitalized and can't work for extended periods of time.

Businesses rely on having employees available to work and customers buying or using their products, so having both put at risk can impact a business in a multitude of ways.

Loss of Productivity

When a person is sick, they have to use their energy to get better, which lowers their productivity. An ill person will not be able to give their employer their 100%, nor should they be expected to. As a result, you should expect a loss of productivity during flu season.

"Some years you get lucky, and everyone stays relatively healthy. But it's not always that easy. Be prepared to rethink priorities or lean on additional external resources when flu season is in full swing," says Dominique Gagnon, VP of Brands and founder of DEINDE.

Even with the common cold, your employees may be unable to power through everything and work. Be on top of deadlines and allow people extra time to do their jobs throughout the season.

Repercussions of Major Health Risks Post-Illness

Having an employee come down with a cold or the flu can put you back when it comes to productivity and success, but the post-illness health risks can alter how your business functions. We can prepare for people to take a few days off to heal, but when days turn into weeks, it can feel like you've lost an employee.

"COVID-19 changed how long employees needed to stay out of work. It started as 10 days in quarantine, and you could do nothing about it. You had to accept that you were down an employee for an extended period of time," says Erick Ramirez, CMO of George Stone Crab, a company known for their delicious stone crab claws, king crab legs, and caviar.

Even after those ten days, long-covid could limit a person's ability to work for months. Similarly, how a person's body responds and heals from the flu, a virus, or a common cold varies. You can't always expect your employees to be ready to go after a short 48-hour window.

Childcare and the Flu

Another hiccup to consider this flu season is its impact on the parents working for your business. While they might not get sick themselves, their children are likely to catch something that keeps them from attending school.

"So often you hear parents talking about how their children 'brought something home,' and they're not referring to a cool project or good test grade. This conversation is the precursor of getting an email early in the morning saying they can't come to work. Even if they're not sick, they have the responsibility of taking care of their child, and it impacts their ability to work," says Asker A Ahmed, Director of iProcess Global Research.

While most employers understand this, it's about preparing for these moments to ensure your business can function. You can't blame a parent for doing their job, so come up with ways to combat these moments of absence.

Solutions to Help Your Business During Cold and Flu Season

Taking a flexible and accommodating stance during the flu season can do a lot for your business. For starters, doing so diminishes the guilt your employees feel when they have to take time off of work due to illness. Additionally, you want to show your employees that you're taking preventative measures to help keep everyone healthy.

"It's more of a best practice for employers to see how they can accommodate the employee and try to resolve their concern. It's better for the employment relationship," says Alka Ramchandani-Raj, an attorney at Littler Mendelson who specializes in workplace safety.

If your employees know you put their health first, they won't force themselves to work and risk getting others sick. Everyone will also be more motivated to rally around those struggling with illness during this time and help keep the team focused.

Host a Flu Vaccination Clinic

(Photo : Gustavo Fring from Pexels)

An employer putting in the effort to bring health and safety precautions to their employees can make a difference. An individual scheduling a flu vaccination can take time away from work, so bringing the vaccinations to your business or allowing for time off to get one helps incentivize employees to do so.

"You may want to give your employees time out of the office to get their flu vaccination. Have them mark it on their calendar in advance so they can make preparations for the time that they're gone," says Joseph Antoun, MD, Ph.D., MPP, and CEO of Prolon, a company innovating the nutrition world with their fasting mimicking diet.

Make sure your employees know that their workplace supports them in pursuing better health and encourages them to do what they need to do to ensure it.

Provide Flu Prevention Measures

Equipping your business with proper PPE equipment, hand sanitizer, smaller group settings, and the ability to phone in shows your employees that you're putting in the effort to prevent sickness.

"As soon as October rolls around, place hand sanitizers throughout the building, wipe down tables and chairs after meetings, offer N-95 masks, and maybe even have COVID tests available should anyone need them," says Jason Swilling, Executive Director of Mt. View Treatment Center. "It seems like a lot, but it does help ease flu anxiety."

Actively taking preventative measures demonstrates to your employees that you are taking the flu season seriously. Putting noticeable effort into keeping everyone healthy can boost company morale.

Support Remote Work

When someone is under the weather, you can't always expect them to work through it. However, offering the ability for those recovering to tune in remotely can help get people back to work without overworking them.

"Remote working can be a helpful tool, especially around flu season. Maybe you aren't feeling 100% quite yet, but if you're up to listen in on a meeting or answer some emails, the option is there," says Kevin Miller, Founder of kevinmiller.com.

Not all companies can support remote work. However, those who can benefit during the flu season, especially when it comes to an employee with a sick child. If they can get a half-day of work done on their computer, why not let them?

Promote a Health-Conscious Environment

Even before flu season, you can work towards making your business a health-conscious environment. Allowing your employees to get outside and exercise throughout the day, offering healthy snacks, juices, and water, and hosting wellness activities shows that you care about their well-being.

"A company that shows up for their employees all year will have no problem keeping their business running during flu season," says Marcus Hutsen, Business Development Manager of Patriot Coolers.

If an employee feels they are being taken care of, entering into flu season will not be so anxiety-inducing. Remember, these are people that rely on your business, too.

Plan for Absences

Hiring seasonal workers or temp positions can give you flexibility during peak flu season. You have to prepare for people being unable to do their jobs, so outsourcing work through agencies and part-time job postings may be useful.

"During flu season, try taking on three to five new employees that work part-time or are 'on call.' When you are down one of your full-time employees, other people can step in and help with the job," says Erin Banta, Co-Founder and CEO of Pepper Home.

Businesses should know how many absences they can afford before it starts to impact their revenue. Temp positions do a great job of filling these gaps when needed.

Fight the Flu and Keep Your Business Afloat

Flexibility, accommodation, and understanding will get you farther than anything else this flu season. Reminding yourself that people don't get sick on purpose and, in fact, most try to avoid it so that they don't have to miss work can motivate you to be more prepared.

"Everyone gets sick at some point. You can't let that stop you from moving forward and finding solutions to make sure the job still gets done," states Max Schwartzapfel, CMO of Schwartzapfel Lawyers.

The season comes and goes every year, so keep an eye on what organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and CDC say about this year's projections. It's never too early to remind everyone to wash their hands, cover their mouths when they sneeze, and stay home if they feel unwell.