For nearly one in two Ile-de-France business leaders, managing this Omicron wave is the priority at the moment, with schedules that turn into a puzzle, replacements to be made at a moment’s notice. 83% of employers note an increase in absences from their teams. The employees are either sick or in contact with them, or stuck at home to take care of their sick children.
According to the survey, 43% of absences are also linked to problems in schools. The situation is particularly tense in services, catering, commerce, distribution and logistics. And it is so so that 10% of Ile-de-France bosses questioned believe that this disorganization, through the damage it generates, will endanger their business.
In addition to replacements, the damage most often cited by business leaders is cascading contract cancellations, because many events are deleted or postponed. But also delays in deliveries, significant drops in activity, for example, teleworking reduces the number of customers in restaurants. There are also unforeseen cost increases, such as finding a new carrier because the one you usually work with can’t honor the service, costs more. The same to replace an absent, calling on an employee who is not part of the company is more expensive. As a result, nearly two-thirds of the bosses questioned admit that this epidemic wave affects their morale.
Due to a lack of personnel, warehouses and factories operate in degraded mode in France. To make up for the lack of personnel, temporary employment agencies are being taken by storm and they are not always able to meet the demands of certain trades: technical in particular such as plumbers, heating engineers, electricians, or even carers. The epidemic should not last too long.
At the start of the week, Bruno le Maire, the Minister of the Economy was reassuring, however, explaining that there is no risk of paralysis of the economy at all.