How to support employees at work with Long Covid
While most people who test positive for Covid-19 do get better within a few weeks of illness, for some people coronavirus can cause symptoms that last weeks or months after the infection has gone. This is sometimes called post Covid-19 syndrome or ‘Long Covid’.
Most people will make a full recovery within 12 weeks, but for some people the symptoms can last longer. The chances of having long-term symptoms does not seem to be linked to how ill you are when you first get Covid-19 and people who had mild symptoms at first can still have long-term problems.
According to some estimates, between 2.3% and 10% of people who test positive for Covid-19 experience some symptoms for 12 weeks or longer. These can include fatigue, breathlessness, headaches, chest pains, palpitations and dizziness.
But there still isn’t a clear idea of just how common Long Covid is or how serious a problem it is likely to be, both for individual patients and wider society as a whole.
Varied symptoms
A major part of the problem, according to Professor Charles Bangham FMedSci FRS, Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London, writing for The Royal Society, is that we still do not have a widely accepted definition of exactly what Long Covid is.
He states that part of the reason for this is the newness of Covid-19 itself; the disease was only recognised in December 2019 and has been in some countries for less than a year. The long-term effects started to be recognised in the summer of 2020 as the numbers suffering then grew.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provided guidelines on a definition which state that Covid-19 itself can last up to four weeks, and persistent symptoms lasting 4-12 weeks were described as “ongoing symptomatic Covid-19”. Symptoms that persisted 12 weeks or more were classed as “post-Covid-19 syndrome”.
Even so, there are still nearly 50 different symptoms associated with Long Covid and some surveys have identified more than 100. Yet the most frequently reported symptoms are fairly non-specific – headaches, fatigue and breathlessness, for example, and are common in many different conditions. Not everyone experiences all of the symptoms in the same combinations, and in some cases they appear intermittently. Often the symptoms change over time and appear in different parts of the body, which can make it hard for doctors to ascribe it to a single condition.
The main symptoms are activity induced fatigue, sleep disturbance and cognitive dysfunction. In practical terms, this means no longer being able to carry out a normal range of physical activities at home or work without becoming exhausted, sleeping for prolonged periods or not being able to sleep, and difficulty in concentrating for prolonged periods. The short-term (working) memory may also be affected.
So how can sufferers of Long Covid get support at work?
Given the sheer volume of symptoms associated with Long Covid, sufferers may not know what is wrong with them and where to go for help. There is no test specifically for Long Covid, so it’s helpful for individuals to keep a diary of their symptoms, which they can take with them to see their GP to try to establish a diagnosis.
Business support
Recognising the symptoms of Long Covid and doing what you can, as early as you can may help your employees and ensure that those who are unwell make a speedier recovery, or manage their work more effectively during their recovery.
Businesses might want to consider healthcare packages – specifically those that cover physical and mental health needs. The nature of Long Covid means it can be incredibly draining, so the support of private healthcare for your employees will help give them support that they need.
Work adjustments
The symptoms of Long Covid could affect someone’s ability to work or cause them to take time off sick. Employers should be aware that the symptoms of Long Covid can come and go – some days an employee might be feeling fine but on other days their symptoms may worsen and they need to be off work. Therefore absence can be longer term, or the employee may have intermittent short periods of absence.
Fatigue is one of the main symptoms of Long Covid. The fatigue can be aggravated by prolonged periods of physical or mental exertion, which can make the condition difficult to manage. If somebody overdoes it one day, they may need to rest the next day, so it is important to try to rebuild physical and mental stamina slowly to keep the fatigue levels stable. Activity management (both physical and mental) is really important and resting and relaxation between periods of activity are an essential component to recovery.
Work adjustments, such as temporary reduced hours, flexibility to work from home, avoiding rush hour traffic, starting slightly later in the day if their sleep is affected, and reduced time on a computer screen (such as turning zoom/Teams cameras off) can help the individual manage the symptoms whilst still being able to work in some capacity.
Talking to the individual about their specific symptoms, how they affect them at home and work, and what they feel would help them manage at work would be a good first step to support your employee. If you have tried to put supportive strategies in place and the employee is still struggling to remain at work, then a more specialist occupational health assessment is recommended.
The occupational health practitioner will be able to advise on any other specific practical adjustments that may help the employee, based on their specific current set of symptoms and their specific job role. They can also signpost the employee on where to go for further support in managing their symptoms more effectively. This helpful booklet provides more information to help managers understand the symptoms of Long Covid and the effect it can have on the individual, and provides advice on how the individual can manage the symptoms to reduce the impact on their normal activities as much as possible.
If you have an employee struggling at work due to Long Covid and need more specialist advice contact us now