Many employers not supporting staff with long Covid

The majority of people living with long Covid say that it has negatively impacted their ability to work, finds a new study.

And, according to the Indeed report, many employers simply don’t understand the condition and how it is affecting their staff.

As many as 61% of those suffering from long Covid say that they are ‘dragging themselves into work as they have no choice’, and 49% of those struggling feel that they can’t ask for time off or even request the support they need due to a lack of understanding from their employer.

There are approximately 2.3 million people, which is 3.5% of the population, currently living with long Covid in the UK with the Indeed research identifying the most common effects as being:

• Feeling more tired (cited by 59%
• Reduced physical strength (42%)
• Diminished concentration (37%)
• Being in physical pain when working (19%)

Danny Stacy, Senior Talent Advisor at Indeed, said, “Our research shows that the health emergency has become an employment crisis. While there’s still so much we don’t know about long COVID, we’re now discovering the true extent to which the illness impairs people’s ability to work.

“With economic inactivity through sickness at a record high, three quarters of people suffering from long term COVID symptoms have been forced to completely rethink their career while one of five stopped working entirely.

“Worse still, the rising cost of living is making conditions even harder with most employees with long COVID feeling they have no choice but to drag themselves into work.

“Employers cannot make these people medically better but it’s clear from our research that they have a role to play starting with better understanding the toll of long COVID and considering ways they can be more empathetic to those who continue to suffer.”

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