BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY
For a significant proportion of small- and medium-sized Canadian businesses, prevention is the best medicine when it comes to staving off the effects of the H1N1 virus.
In a Probe Research Inc. survey conducted exclusively for the International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID), one-third of Canadian business executives surveyed (35%) reported that their organizations have developed or are currently developing a strategy to deal with the effects of the H1N1 flu. While nearly two-thirds of these Canadian business executives (65%) have yet to establish a pandemic plan for their workplaces, three-quarters (75%) report that they now feel more knowledgeable about what they must do in order to plan for a future pandemic.
“It is encouraging that a large proportion of smaller Canadian businesses are taking proactive steps to prevent the spread of H1N1,” noted Wendy Schettler, director of public health programs for the International Centre for Infectious Diseases. “While we urge every business to create a pandemic plan and put it in place, it is positive to see that many Canadian businesses with less than 200 employees recognize the need to put a strategy in place so they can continue to operate even if a pandemic strikes.”
This study found that companies with larger workforces were more likely than small businesses to have developed a contingency plan to deal with employee absenteeism and other effects of H1N1 (53% of companies with 15+ employees put a pandemic strategy in place, versus 36% of firms with 5-14 employees and only 9% of firms with less than five employees).
When asked to state how H1N1 concerns have affected their operations, most of these businesses reported that they encouraged their employees to properly wash their hands (65%). Slightly less than one-half of these employers (41%) reported that they changed their company’s cleaning practices to stop the spread of the virus, while one in ten (10%) noted that they amended human resources policies because of the pandemic.
Other key findings from this survey include:
- Among businesses that developed a strategy for dealing with H1N1, more than one-half (52%) reported that they acted upon this plan.
- Even if they did not act upon their pandemic plan, an overwhelming majority of these firms (83%) felt that it was helpful to be prepared for the spread of H1N1 in their workplaces.
- Nearly three-quarters of those businesses with a pandemic plan (74%) reported that this procedure could also be used to deal with future health-related emergencies.
The International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID) is a Winnipeg-based not-for-profit organization that brings people and resources together to combat the spread of infectious diseases worldwide. The Pandemic Planning Project is an initiative undertaken by the ICID, the Canadian Chambers of Commerce and other partners to develop pandemic planning tools for use by small- and medium-sized businesses. For more information about the Pandemic Planning Project, please visit www.BusinessFluPlan.ca.
Probe Research Inc. (www.probe-research.com) is a full-service market research firm located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Probe Research Inc. interviewed a random and regionally-representative sampling of the owners and managers of 200 Canadian businesses with fewer than 200 employees. The interviews were conducted by telephone between February 24th and March 10th, 2010. With a sample of 200, one can be certain of an accuracy rate of ± 6.93 percent (19 times out of 20). The margin of error is higher when looking at sub-populations or when examining the survey results on a regional basis.
For more information on this survey or to arrange an interview with Wendy Schettler, please contact:
Curtis Brown,
Research Associate,
Probe Research Inc.
Suite 850-125 Garry Street,
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 3P2
Tel.: (204) 926-6565
Cell: (204) 250-7410
E-mail: curtis@probe-research.com