Most Americans Lacking Direction from Their Employers for the H1N1 Flu Season, Survey Shows
NEW YORK-(Business Wire)-September 21, 2009 - Most workers have not had any direction from their employers about the upcoming flu season, according to a national survey released today by Mansfield Communications Inc.
In the survey of a national representative sample, 69 per cent of respondents say they have received no communication about policies in the workplace pertaining to H1N1— not even information related to hand washing or sick leave.
The survey, conducted by Angus Reid Strategies for Mansfield Communications Inc., interviewed 1,028 workers from Sept. 10th 2009 thru Sept. 12th 2009. It was intended to gauge the readiness of workers for the pending H1N1 pandemic. The margin of error is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.
The poll found that a large majority (84%) of American workers believe the recession creates more pressure to show up for work— even if they are feeling sick.
“Many workers are understandably concerned about how absenteeism due to sickness will impact their job security in the current economic environment. However, sick employees coming into the office during the H1N1 flu season will undermine the health and productivity of the entire workplace,” said Rob Ireland, partner at Mansfield Communications Inc.
“Employers need to clearly communicate with employees about such things as extended sick leave policy and procedures to minimize the spread of infection. During a pandemic, employers must become trusted sources of information and help employees make the right choices.”
The majority of the workers surveyed (80%) felt they were knowledgeable about precautions that should be taken if the virus reached their workplace. Yet approximately half (47%) of the respondents said that they would still engage in public activities (such as riding the bus, picking up a prescription or grocery shopping) even when they were infected with H1N1 and required to stay home from their office due to a company-imposed quarantine.
“The gap between professed knowledge and practice is alarming,” said Ireland. “Nearly half of respondents said that they would continue to engage in public activities with full knowledge of their infection. Clearly, there is much to be done to educate America’s workforce and help people act appropriately in order to contain the spread of H1N1.”
Additional poll findings:
- When asked how concerned they were about the H1N1 Virus, approximately 50% of workers rated their concern a six or higher on a scale of 1-10.
- When asked if they planned to get vaccinated if a vaccine was made available this fall, 49% of all respondents said yes and 51% said no.
- When asked about public activity while infected, 52% of men said that they were either somewhat or very likely to engage in it, while 43% of women said the same.
About Mansfield Communications Inc.
Mansfield Communications is a full-service marketing and communications agency servicing the global needs of its North American clients through its offices in New York, San Francisco and Toronto. The expertise of Mansfield spans public and media relations, analyst and investor relations, crisis communications, brand and marketing consultation, integrated marketing strategy, media relations, internal communications and speakers bureau management. Mansfield consultants have a wide range of industry experience, including B-to-B and B-to-C technology, consumer products and services, biotechnology, financial services, real estate, mining and public sector accounts.
Rob Ireland, former Director of Executive and Internal Communications for HP (Americas Region) and Partner with Mansfield Communications, is one of a few communications experts who has experience with an epidemic. During the SARS epidemic in Toronto in early 2003, he was involved in every aspect of internal and external communications and corporate messaging relating to quarantines, critical illnesses, and employee deaths. Central to the success of this work was a collaborative communications approach with Public Health authorities. In April 2003, Gartner published an event summary entitled “Lessons Learned from Hewlett-Packard’s SARS Quarantine”.
About Angus Reid Strategies
Angus Reid is a full-service polling and market research firm which is a leader in the use of the Internet and rich media technology to collect high-quality, in-depth insights for a wide array of clients. Dr. Angus Reid and the Angus Reid team are pioneers in online research methodologies, and have been conducting online surveys since 1995.
Angus Reid, along with its sister company, Vision Critical, is one of the largest market research enterprises across North America with offices in Chicago, New York and San Francisco – the firm also has offices located in Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Toronto, Montreal, London, Paris and Sydney.
About the Poll/ Margin of error
From September 10 to September 12, 2009, Angus Reid Strategies conducted an online survey among a randomly selected, representative sample of 1,028 adult Americans. The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the US Census Bureau’s Statistics most current education, age, gender and regional data to ensure a representative sample of the entire adult population of United States. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
This Angus Reid Strategies poll was conducted using the Springboard America online panel (www.springboardamerica.com), which is recruited via an industry-leading process that incorporates a randomized, widespread invitation approach and a triple opt-in screening procedure. The panel is maintained through state-of-the-art sampling techniques and frequent verifications of personal identity, contact information, and demographic characteristics.
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
Search Our News Using Google Search
Can't find what you want? Try using Google:
