How would a pandemic impact my organisation
Decline in business travel 5
As a pandemic spreads, international travel would dramatically decline as people avoided flu “hotspots” and Governments restricted travel. In all likelihood, people would quarantine themselves and their families by staying at home more. Nonessential activities requiring social contact would be sharply curtailed, leading to significant declines in retail trade. People would avoid public places, such as shopping malls, community centres, places of worship, and public transport. Attendance at theatres, sporting events, museums, and restaurants would decline.
Businesses would suffer5
It seems likely that many schools would close, and even if they did not, attendance would fall dramatically as parents kept their children at home. In either event, large-scale school closings would lead to a spike in workplace absences because parents would stay home to care for their children even if they were not sick. The impact on businesses of all kinds due to employee absenteeism would be dramatic. The Australian government estimates that businesses should plan for 30 - 50% staff absences at the peak of a pandemic. Staff absences can be expected for many reasons:
- Illness / incapacity
- Staying at home to care for ill family members
- Staying at home to look after children as schools and child care centres are likely to be closed
- People wishing to avoid crowded places including public transport
- People fulfilling other voluntary roles in the community
| Supply-side impact5 | |
Lost Employee Productivity |
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Disruption of Supply Chains |
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Operations and Facilities Shutdown |
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Drop in Demand for Products and Services |
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