RAIsonance Releases New Fall 2023 Workforce Risk Forecast

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RAIsonance today announced the release of its Fall 2023 Workforce Wellness Risk Forecast Report. This specialized forecast delivers comprehensive insights into rising health risks likely to affect workforce health and productivity this fall, across industries and sectors. The first in a series, these reports provide employers with a science-based risk forecast to help them better prepare for and mitigate potential productivity disruptions resulting from the forecasted incidence of contagious illnesses in the US, Canada, and UK.

"Working in conjunction with one of the most talented biorisk experts in the world, we've devised a critical tool to help employers get a glimpse into the multi-faceted illness environment we may be facing this fall and winter. We believe employers of all sizes need an evidence-based way to anticipate biorisks that can threaten their employees' health, and their companies' productivity and profitability," said Kitty Kolding, CEO and Founder of RAIsonance, Inc.

The Fall 2023 report cites several specific trends that could create a very challenging environment for employers through the remainder of 2023. These insights are especially critical to employers in categories whose workforce must be on-site, such as construction, healthcare, first responders, manufacturing, mining, warehousing, and the like.

"To support our enterprise clients, we watch these increasing workforce wellness threat indicators very closely," said Kris Hopkins, Chief Product Officer at RAIsonance. "Our enterprise wellness tracking solution, FCV Sentinel, is expressly designed to mitigate these kinds of threats to productivity, to help employers work through these fluid and challenging conditions."

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, about "7.8 million workers missed work in January 2022 because they had an illness, injury, or medical problem or appointment, up from 3.7 million in January 2021. About 4.2 million who usually work full-time worked part-time because of an illness, injury, or medical problem or appointment, up from 1.8 million in January 2021."

Absenteeism alone costs U.S. companies an estimated $225.8 billion annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A Harvard Business Review study suggests that presenteeism can cost U.S. companies up to $150 billion per year. Presenteeism costs include decreased productivity, low morale among other employees, and the potential health risk of communicable disease spread. The relentless toll of these costs can substantially erode a company's profit margin, emphasizing the necessity for effective health and risk management strategies in the workforce.

Key Insights from the Fall 2023 Workforce Wellness Risk Forecast Report

• The report notes the emergence of a new sub-lineage of Omicron, EG.5.1, which will drive a new wave of Covid-19 infections. This wave began at the start of August and will likely peak in early to mid-September in both the US, Canada, and the UK, with different spikes in different markets. The wave will be similar in magnitude to the 2022 – 2023 winter waves experienced in North America and the UK.
• In addition, a 2^nd generation sub-lineage of BA.2 known as BA.2.86 has been detected in Denmark, London, USA, and Israel. While case numbers are currently very small, the large number of mutations present in this sub-lineage and the fact it has been detected in four distinct geographic locations raise the possibility that this sub-lineage may cause a new global wave of infections.
• Increased levels of ill-health from a combination of Influenza, RSV, COVID-19, Group A Strep, Adenovirus and a handful of other infectious diseases will increase levels of staff absences.
• Severe cases of Long Covid (LC) will continue to accumulate, creating a new group of individuals who are physically unable to work.
• Neurocognitive dysfunction ("Brain Fog") will adversely affect the job performance of approximately 25% of those individuals who are infected with SARS-CoV-2. Brain fog can last for several weeks after all other symptoms of acute COVID -19 illness resolve, and thus will negatively impact individual productivity long after an individual returns to work after a COVID -19 absence.
• These workforce shortages will also cause some supply chain problems, including for some medications, specifically oral formulations of common broad-spectrum antibiotics. Other medications, such as short-acting bronchodilators for asthma and COPD, are also likely to have supply chain interruptions.
• The immune dysregulation effect of COVID -19 will lead to significant winter waves of RSV and Strep A in children. This may lead to a small but significant number of temporary school closures, and parents requiring time off work to care for sick children. These diseases are likely to occur at similar rates as 2022.

The full report also details related Societal Risks and Available Mitigations. To obtain the full report without charge, please

• Go to: Risk Forecast Download
• Or contact [email protected]

About RAIsonance, Inc. 
RAIsonance is a family of companies headquartered in the Denver Tech Center, dedicated to Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML)-based healthcare solutions. RAIsonance companies operate wellness products MyAdvocate and Biometric SoundPass for consumers, the workforce wellness solution FCV Sentinel for the enterprise, and is developing diagnostic solutions for COVID-19, Influenza, Tuberculosis, and RSV. To learn more about RAIsonance Inc., please visit RAIsonance.ai

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SOURCE RAIsonance, Inc.