Organisations take rapid action to protect staff from the long-term health effects of Covid-19

The Employee Wellbeing Research 2021 report, published by REBA in association with AXA Health, found that 18% of organisations have already introduced support for Long Covid. It was also employers’ number one priority for 2021, with 44% planning to add in services to help staff manage the condition this year.   

Long Covid sufferers can be left to cope with a range of health problems, such as chronic fatigue, breathlessness, sleep disorders, and anxiety and stress, months after being infected.

“The support being offered is still in its infancy as employers are only just starting

to understand the potential impact Long Covid might have on their workforces,” says the report.

Still, it says, “the fact that 18% of employers have acted so speedily to put support in place is impressive”.

To try and help curb transmission of the virus, a quarter (25%) of employers have arranged for employees to have access to Covid-19 diagnostic tests that check for current infection, with a further one in 10 (11%) planning to introduce them during 2021.

In addition, more than a quarter of employers are already providing access to the vaccine or planning to this year.

“The current health crisis has inevitably led to a reshaping of wellbeing strategies in order that employee health be safeguarded,” says the report.

Download a copy of the 72-page Employee Wellbeing Research 2021 (free to REBA Professional Members and all those working for REBA Associate Members).