January 12, 2023

New Study of Employees With Long COVID Demonstrates Need for More Workplace Accommodations

Since the beginning of the pandemic “long COVID” remains a new and poorly understood condition both for medical experts and people suffering from the condition. For workers, this has had a significant impact on their ability to remain productive at work. One in five people reporting a positive COVID diagnosis report experiencing symptoms of long COVID, according to the CDC. And, in a new study focused on long-COVID sufferers, 99% of participants reported that the condition had adversely affected their work. Participants reported having to take time off work, depression, anxiety, and even switching jobs.

The study also revealed that these problems are not merely personal, as employers have not done enough to create clear ways to communicate the availability for accommodations, which are required under the ADA, broadened in summer of 2021 to recognize “long COVID” as a disability. Respondents reported lack of workplace flexibility, poor communication, and a more general fear of broaching the subject with employers., all of which were more acutely felt among  respondents of color.

However, there is much that employers can do to help employees who are dealing with long COVID. The first is simply to talk more openly about the condition. Many people are not even aware they are suffering from long COVID because of the lack of diagnostic tools to point to the condition coupled with its similarities with other common mental health conditions. However, many of those conditions already allow for accommodations, so employers should not be fearful of widening the discussion to include long COVID. Additionally, many of those accommodations cost little, are easy to implement and have been used for other conditions for years, making it an easy target for employers.

Another Tough School Year on the Horizon

August 23, 2021
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The Delta variant impact has been felt, including by parents who were relying on schools being open for in-person sessions this fall. After a year and a half of stop-start at schools, the fall semester is already being hampered with many schools having to close or quarantine significant portions of their population. This is especially bad news as there has been little headway made by legislators or the private sector in finding ways to provide parents with paid leave to deal with care-related emergencies, most notably by the sudden closure of schools.

Is US Lack of Childcare a Threat to National Security?

August 23, 2021
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In a recent op-ed in The Hill, several retired US generals make the novel argument that the nation’s lack of strong, universal childcare is not only a persistent problem for working parents, but represents a national security threat and that lawmakers must continue to address this as part of the legislative wrangling set to go into overdrive as Congress returns from summer vacation

Remote Work May Impact Career Advancement

August 18, 2021
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There are few silver linings to be found in the last 20 months. But one bright spot has been the expansion of remote work as an option. The flexibility remote work offers is also a boon to companies competing for workers. However, as companies expand their work-from-home policies, they need to be mindful of how it can affect office culture and promotions.

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