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New research into “long Covid” by Imperial College London shows employers face longer-term difficulties as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The REACT study, commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care, surveyed half-a-million adults and found 37 per cent of people who had contracted Covid-19 had also experienced at least one symptom for 12 weeks or more. This is potentially up to two million people. Chronic conditions and long-term illness are familiar challenges for HR departments, but what is unusual about long Covid is its unpredictability, its range of symptoms and its capacity to affect people in very different ways. Symptoms include severe shortness of breath and fatigue, muscle aches, nausea, depression, bouts of fever, confusion and loss of concentration. Some employees may work normally for long periods and then suddenly experience a flare-up. Others will have persistent low-level effects that undermine morale and long-term performance – and if the REACT study findings are accurate, in a large organisation that could impact a significant proportion of the workforce. This means that when the government’s furlough scheme ends in September, the majority of people with long Covid will be able to work, but many others may be on long-term
