Table 1 Summary of included studies examining socioeconomic impact of airborne and droplet-borne infectious disease on industries

Akazawa et al. (2003) [35] / USA

Multiple

Influenza

1996

Cross-sectional study

Workers across USA (N = 7037)

Absenteeism, work loss

1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data modelling

1. The average number of workdays missed due to ILI was 1.30 days

2. The average work loss was valued at USD137 per person

Al-Ghunaim et al. (2021) [36] / UK

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Qualitative study

Surgeons across UK (N = 141)

Productivity, employee engagement

Qualtrics survey tool and thematic analysis

1. Participants reported being less productive and slower at work

2. Participants reported decreased motivation levels at work

Alsharef et al. (2021) [37] / USA

Con-struction

COVID-19

2020-current

Qualitative study

Professional organizations subject matter experts (N = 34)

Supply chain disruption, supply cost, production cost, service disruption, employment, workforce size, productivity, absenteeism, demand shock

Semi-structured interview

1. Containment measures included provision of temporary shutdown and quarantining, PPE, and COVID-19 related training

2. Material shortages and material price escalation

3. Delays in material delivery, which caused significant schedule disruptions

4. Increased production cost due to need to offer larger compensations to subcontractors and additional cost and overhead

5. Large number of furloughs and layoffs due to cash flow challenge and workload reduction

6. Reduced workforce due to social distancing recommendations and absenteeism

7. Loss in productivity and efficiency

8. Increased demand for home improvement and renovation products and supplies from local supplier and manufacturers

Banerjee et al. (2021) [38] / global

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Longi-tudinal study

Oncology professionals from 101 countries (N = 1520 survey I, N = 272 survey I & II)

Productivity

Job Performance since COVID-19 tool

1. 49% participants reported that they were unable to do their job to the same standard compared with pre-COVID-19 period

Bergeron et al. (2006) [39] / Canada

Health-care

SARS

2003

Cross-sectional study

Community nurses across Ontario (N = 941)

Workforce size, service disruption

Self-administered questionnaire and thematic analysis

1. Containment measures included patient and visitor screening, and mandatory PPE

2. 66% participants cited staff shortages and program stoppages

Brophy et al. (2021) [40] / Canada

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Qua-litative study

Frontline HCW across Ontario (N = 10)

Workforce size, absenteeism

In-depth interview and thematic analysis

1. Containment measures included PPE and sanization protocols

2. Increased staff shortages

3. Increased absenteeism among frontline HCW

Calvo-Bonacho et al. (2020) [41] / Spain

Multiple

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Workers covered by Spanish insurance company (N = 1,651,305)

Absenteeism, work loss

National Public Health System Register data analysis

1. Dramatic increase of sick leave for respiratory diseases and infectious disease in March 2020 (4.9 cases vs 2.5 cases and 5.1 cases vs 1.3 cases per 1000 workers in 2020 vs. 2017, 2018, and 2019 respectively), representing 116% increase in total sick leave

2. The increased sick leave translated into an 40% increase of associated costs during the first trimester of 2020 compared with the same period of 2017–2019 (mean USD4374.81 vs. 3118.20 per 100 affiliated workers)

Caroll & Smith (2020) [42] / USA

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Case study

Hospital in Washington State (N = 1)

Financial loss, supply cost

2019 hospital financial data analysis

For duration of shift for 3-months:

1. 25–50% reduction in surgical volume resulting in USD12.46–24.9 million revenue loss, and 10–20% reduction in clinic volume resulting in USD0.64–1.29 million loss

2. Increase of USD107,040–535,198 in supply costs

3. Loss of USD124,480 (1% increase in ICU days) to a loss of USD2.49 million (20% increase in ICU days) due to substitution of acute care for critical care

Per year:

1. Estimated financial loss of USD13–117 million/year

Challener et al. (2021) [43] / USA

Health-care

Influenza

2009–2019

Case study

Large academic medical centre workforce

Presenteeism, absenteeism

2009–2019 biweekly institutional payroll data analysis

1. ILI is a statistically significant predictor of unscheduled absences in both salaried and hourly workers (p < 0.01)

2. For every increase in ILI by 1% in the population of the state, hourly workers and salaried workers have an increase in percent of unscheduled absence hours of 0.14 and 0.04% respectively

3. For every increase in ILI by 1%, the proportion of paid hours that are worked increases by 0.2% (p = 0.04) in hourly workers

Considine et al. (2011) [44] / Australia

Health-care

H1N1 flu

2009

Cross-sectional study

EM and nursing staff across Australia (N = 618)

Absenteeism

Self-developed survey

1. 35% participants reported ILI; the mean number of days away from work due to ILI was 3.73 (SD = 3.63)

Danial et al. (2016) [45] / Scotland

Health-care

Norovirus

2013

Case study

Hospital in Scotland (N = 1)

Work loss, healthcare cost

APEX system data analysis and economic analysis

In the outbreak which occurred from January until March of 2013:

1. 30 HCW (3.10 cases per 1000 inpatient bed-days) were affected, i.e. developed gastroenteritis

2. Total cost of staff absence was USD16,232.42

3. Healthcare cost included loss due to empty beds (USD401,893.83), cleaning costs (USD5,021.52), incident management team (USD64,562.41), and laboratories (USD2,295.55)

Delaney et al. (2021) [46] / USA

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

University of Utah staff (N = 5030)

Employee engagement, productivity

Self-developed survey

1. 21% participants moderately or very seriously considered leaving the workforce and 30% considered reducing hours

2. 39% participants felt their productivity decreased

Duarte et al. (2017) [47] / Chile

Health-care

Influenza

2009

Cross-sectional study

Employed, privately insured Chileans (N = 1.4 M)

Absenteeism, workforce size

Private health insurance claim data analysis

1. Pandemic increased mean flu days missed by 0.042 days per person-month during the 2009 peak winter months (June and July), representing an 800% increase in missed days

2. Minimum of 0.2% reduction in Chile’s labour supply was observed

Escudero et al. (2005) [48] / Singapore

Health-care

SARS

2003

Cross-sectional study

Tan Tock Seng Hospital HCW (N = 4261)

Absenteeism

Surveillance data for staff on sick leave analysis

1. Containment measures included surveillance

2. 4261 staff as of mid-Sept 2003 had episodes of staff MC for febrile illness

3. The rate of staff sick leave for febrile illness was 1.40 per 1000 staff-days observed

4. There were 57 cases of deaths with pneumonia

Fargen et al. (2020) [49] / USA

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Neurointerven-tional physician organization members (N = 151)

Employment

Self-developed survey

1. COVID-19-positive infections occurred in 1% of respondents, and an additional 8% were quarantined for suspected infection.

2. 1% participants reported their employment position being terminated or furloughed

3. 30 and 23% participants reported reduction of 25% or less and greater than 25% of normal compensation respectively

Gashi et al. (2021) [50] / Kosovo

Multiple

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Micro, small, medium and large business enterprise workers (N = 205)

Employment, financial loss, supply chain disruption

Self-developed survey

1. National containment measures included lockdown, closure of borders, and restriction of free movement

2. 37% participants had laid off employees: 25% have laid off 1–4 employees, 8% 5–10 employees, and 3% 11–90 employees

3. On average, microenterprises incurred losses of USD32,643.53, small enterprises USD316,624.61, medium enterprises USD804,205.05, and large companies USD864,353.31

4. 90% participants (40.5% greatly, 28% somewhat, and 22% a little) reported that they were affected by supply of materials

Gray et al. (2021) [51] / USA

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Longi-tudinal study

Critical care physicians across US (N = 2375 T0, N = 1356 T1)

Workforce size

Self-developed survey

1. Substantial shortages of ICU-trained staff reported in T0, although declining slightly, persist in T1; 48% in T0 vs. 47% in T1

2. The largest staffing shortage reported for both T0 and T1 was in ICU-trained nurses (34% in T0 vs. 33% in T1)

Groenewold et al. (2013) [52] / USA

Multiple

H1N1 flu

2009

Cross-sectional study

Full-time US workers (N = 60,000 households)

Absenteeism

Current Population Survey database analysis

1. There was a significant (p < .01) increase in health-related absenteeism among full-time workers above baseline, corresponding with pandemic peak in national occurrence of ILI

2. Total one-week absenteeism ranged from 2 to 4%

3. Peak workplace absenteeism was correlated with the highest occurrence of both ILI and influenza-positive laboratory tests

Groenewold et al. (2019) [53] / USA

Multiple

Influenza

2017–2018

Cross-sectional study

Full-time US workers (N = 60,000 households)

Absenteeism

Current Population Survey database analysis

1. Prevalence of health-related work absenteeism among full-time workers peaked at 3.0% (95% CI 2.8–3.2%) in January 2018

2. Regional absenteeism peaks corresponded to concurrent peaks in ILI activity

Groenewold et al. (2020) [54] / USA

Multiple

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Full-time US workers (N = 60,000 households)

Absenteeism

Current Population Survey database analysis

1. In March and April 2020, prevalence of health-related workplace absenteeism among all full-time workers estimates exceeded the epidemic threshold

2. In April 2020, absenteeism among the following occupational subgroups significantly exceeded their occupation-specific epidemic thresholds: personal care and service (include childcare workers and personal care aides) (5.1% [95% CI = 3.5–6.7]), healthcare support (5.0% [95% CI = 3.1–6.8], production (3.7% [95% CI = 2.7–4.7], transportation and material moving occupations (include bus drivers and subway and streetcar workers) (3.6% [95% CI = 2.6–4.6], and healthcare practitioner and technical occupations (2.8% [95% CI = 2.0–3.6]

Haidari et al. (2021) [55] / USA

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

California Mat-ernal/Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative webinar atten-dees (N = 288)

Work error, productivity

Self-developed survey

1. 12% participants reported increased medical errors

2. 59% participants reported difficulty meeting home and work responsibilities

Hammond & Cheang (1984) [56] / USA

Health-care

Influenza

1980–1981

Cross-sectional study

Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre hospitals HCW (N = 1600)

Absenteeism, work loss

Hospital records data analysis

1. Comparisons between the peak 2-week periods of absenteeism during the epidemic and baseline “control” period showed increase in absenteeism rate during the epidemic (0.0586 vs 0.0346)

2. The total salary paid out for sick leave in the 2-week period of peak absenteeism during the epidemic was much greater than that paid out in the comparable period the next year when no influenza epidemic occurred (USD60,776.13 vs. USD36,290.00)

Harrop et al. (2021) [57] / USA

Education

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

US early career university researchers (N = 150)

Productivity

Self-developed survey

1. 85% participants reported a loss of productivity compared to “normal”, with the majority reporting they were currently working between 41 and 60% (33% participants) or 61–80% (38% participants) productivity

Hasan et al. (2021) [58] / Bangladesh

Agri-culture

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Farmers, middlemen and consumers across Dhobaura (N = 280)

Production cost, financial loss, employment, demand shock

Self-developed survey

1. The total production costs (primary fixed costs, operation costs, feed costs, medicinal costs) has increased since the pandemic and gross margins reduced

2. To reduce labour costs, 80% of farms reduced staff; the number of staff employed decreased from 209 to 149 following the pandemic (median change − 1.5). Overall mean labor cost/day dropped from USD 3.93 to USD 3.52 (> 10% fall)

3. The finfish farmers were receiving less profits, suffering a real price reduction of USD0.16/kg. By contrast, the middlemen have increased their selling prices, presumably to offset increased costs and maintain profitability

4. Small decrease in demand for dish; fish main protein source for 85% respondents pre-COVID, which dropped to 64.2% after the pandemic, and the amount of fish purchased decreased with a reduction in consumers buying over 5 kg from 46.7 to 30% between pre- and post-COVID

Hemmington & Neill (2021) [59] / New Zealand

Hospitality & Tourism

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Senior industry executives from 105 restaurants, café, take-away outlet (N = 11)

Financial loss, demand shock, production cost, employment, business disruption

Self-developed qualitative survey

1. National containment measures: COVID-19 Alert Level 1–4

2. No tourism and no large concert gatherings led to lower demand

3. As COVID-19 level rose, café incomes declined

4. As customers decreased, there was increased “spend per head”

5. Many staff laid off

6. Operators with low margins and poor cashflow have gone out of business

Iacus et al. (2020) [60] / Italy

Transport

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Global aviation sector

Demand shock, GDP loss, work loss

Forecasting modelling based on past pandemic crisis and observed flight volumes

1. Travel ban imposed since start of pandemic led to demand shock

2. At the end of 2020 the GDP loss globally could be as high as 1.41–1.67% and job losses may reach the value of 25–30 millions in the worst case scenarios

3. Focusing on EU27, the GDP loss may amount to 1.66–1.98% by the end of 2020 and the number of job losses from 4.2 to 5 million in the worst case scenarios

Jazieh et al. (2021) [61] / Middle-east, North Africa, Brazil, Phillipines

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Middle-east, North Africa, Brazil, Phillipines oncologists (N = 1010)

Productivity

Self-developed survey

1. 3% of participants contracted COVID-19 infection

2. 34% participants reported negative pandemic impact on their research productivity

Jha et al. (2020) [62] / USA

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians members (N = 100)

Employment, financial loss, employee engagement, business disruption

Self-developed survey

1. 56% participants have reduced staffing through furloughs and/or layoffs, and 68% have reduced hours per staff

2. 91% participants have seen reduction in collections

3. 55% participants reported that feelings of burnout have made them want to quit practicing medicine

4. 19% participants reported having had to close office

Jiménez-Labaig et al. (2021) [63] / Spain

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Spanish oncology doctors (N = 243)

Employee engagement

Self-developed survey

1. 17% participants reported having been infected with SARS-CoV-2

2. 23% participants reported doubts about their medical vocation

Jones et al. (2021) [64] / USA

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

US health system pharmacists (N = 484)

Employment

Self-developed survey

1. 1, 6, and 17% participants reported having lost their job, being furloughed, and decreased salary respectively

Karatepe et al. (2021) [65] / Turkey

Hospitality & Tourism

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

2 Turkish national 5-star hotels worker (N = 150)

Absenteeism

Autry & Daugherty (2003) absenteeism item

1. COVID-19 pandemic significantly associated with absenteeism among participants (p < 0.01)

Karve et al. (2013) [66] / USA

Multiple

Influenza

2000–2009

Cross-sectional

MarketScan CCAE and HPM database workers (N = 40 M)

Healthcare cost, work loss

2 MarketScan databases 2000–2009 data analysis

1. The average per-patient influenza-related medical cost (ILI-related medical, inpatient, outpatient, physician office, emergency department, pharmacy, ancillary care utilization and costs) ranged from USD239.43 to USD300.83

2. 30% participants with influenza diagnosis had > 1 day of influenza-related work absence during the nine influenza seasons studied

3. The average per-patient cost associated with influenza-related work absence, across all seasons studies, was USD209.66

4. The cost of average influenza-related productivity losses per 100,000 plan members, across all seasons studied, was USD42.58

Keech et al. (1998) [67] / UK

Chemical

Influenza

1994–1995

Longi-tudinal study

Large UK pharmaceutical company workers (N = 411)

Absenteeism, presenteeism, work loss, healthcare cost

Self-developed questionnaire and diary card

1. The mean number of missed workdays was 2.8 days, with means ranging from 3.2 days for secretarial/administrative staff to 1.8 days for managers

2. For those who returned to work while symptomatic, 81% felt only moderately effective

3. 73% participants reported that the illness had interfered with work in or around the home ‘all or most of the time’

4. Overall total cost of missed work days was an estimated USD159,769.67

5. Overall healthcare cost (pharmacist consultation, GP visits and consultations, ED visits, hospitalization, medication) for participants was estimated USD2,512.16

Lee et al. (2008) [68] / Hong Kong

Hospitality & Tourism

Influenza

2007

Cross-sectional study

Hong Kong corporation staff (N = 2212)

Work loss, productivity

Self-developed survey

1. Average equivalent days of perfect health loss per person per year was 10.71 days

2. Average productivity loss per person per year was USD152.12

Leigh (2011) [69] / USA

Multiple

Tuber-culosis

2007

Longi-tudinal study

Workers across USA

Heathcare cost

Primary and secondary national data analysis

1. In 2007, the number of deaths due to pulmonary tuberculosis was 25

2. In 2007, the medical cost for pulmonary tuberculosis was USD0.07 billion

Lim et al. (2020) [70] / Australia

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Emergency physicians (N = 32)

Productivity

Hospital administration database analysis

1. 49% reduction in productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic from previously published data (p < 0.0001)

Matsuo et al. (2021) [71] / Japan

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross sectional study

Tertiary hospital HCW (N = 660)

Employee engagement

Self-developed survey

1. 65% participants had dropout intentions

Mosteiro et al. (2020) [72] / Spain, Brazil, Portugal

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Primary health care and hospitals nurses (N = 659)

Presenteeism

SPS-6

1. Prevalence of presenteeism was 55, 36 and 30% for Portugese, Brazilian and Spanish participants respectively

Noorashid & Chin (2021) [73] / Brunei

Hospitality & Tourism

COVID-19

2020-current

Qualitative study

Community-based tourism owners (N = 16)

Business disruption, financial loss, demand shock

Semi-structured interview

1. National containment measures included lockdown and movement restrictions

2. Demand shock due to movement restriction and risk aversion

3. Participants reported disruption to local businesses, reduced earnings, and financial difficulties

Novak et al. (2021) [74] / Croatia and Serbia

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Pharmacists (N = 574)

Productivity

Self-developed survey

1. Containment measures included isolation (working behind acrylic glass partitions), PPE, temperature screening, provision of hand sanitizer and disinfection of work area

2. 25% participants reported negative effect on productivity due to changes in working conditions

Palmer et al. (2010) [75] / USA

Multiple

Influenza

2007–2008

Cohort study

Retail, manu-facturing and transport staff (N = 2013)

Absenteeism, presenteeism

Self-developed survey; items adapted from HPQ

1. The incidence of employee ILI ranged from 4.8 to 13.5%

2. Employees reporting ILI reported more absences than employees not reporting ILI (72% vs 30%, respectively; p < 0.001)

3. An average of 1.7 days of work absence were attributable to ILI

4. Mean ILI-related presenteeism was 2.5 hours

Richmond et al. (2020) [76] / USA

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Southeastern Surgical Congress members (N = 183)

Employment, productivity

Self-developed survey

1. Practices reduced staffing through paid time off (48%), furlough (40%), and termination (7%). Most participants predicted annual compensation would be moderately reduced (63.4%)

2. Participants estimated clinical productivity would be moderately reduced (48%) or extremely reduced (42%)

Schanzer et al. (2011) [77] / Canada

Multiple

Influenza/H1N1 flu

2009

Cross-sectional study

Household

Absenteeism

Statistics

Canada’s Labour Force Survey data analysis

1. Hours lost due to the H1N1/09 pandemic strain more than seasonal influenza (0.2% of potential hours worked annually)

2. Estimated 0.08% of hours worked annually were lost due to seasonal influenza illnesses

3. Absenteeism rates due to influenza were estimated at 12% per year for seasonal influenza over the 1997/98 to 2008/09 seasons, and 13% for the two H1N1/09 pandemic waves

4. Employees took an average of 14 hours off due to a seasonal influenza infection, and 25 hours for the pandemic strain

Slone et al. (2021) [78] / USA

Health-care

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Mental health providers (N = 500)

Employment

Self-developed survey

1. 22, 21, and 0.2% participants reported reduced pay, being furloughed, and laid off respectively

Tilchin et al. (2021) [79] / USA

Multiple

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Amazon’s MTurk service worker (N = 220)

Presenteeism

Self-developed survey

1. 35% participants reported an intention to still work if they felt a little sick with COVID-19 due to financial strain

Torá-Rocamora et al. (2011) [80] / Spain

Multiple

H1N1 flu

2009

Cohort study

Catalonia workers (N = 3,157,979)

Absenteeism

Time series analysis of surveillance data

1. Containment measures included surveillance

2. Influenza activity peaked earlier in 2009 and yielded more cases than in previous years. Week 46 (in November 2009) had the highest number of new cases resulting in sickness absence (endemic-epidemic index 20.99; 95% CI 9.44 to 46.69)

Tsai et al. (2014) [81] / USA

Multiple

Influenza

2007–2009

Cross-sectional study

Privately insured workers (N = 1,860,562,007–2008, N = 1,953,662,008–2009)

Absenteeism

MarketScan database analysis

1. There were 2406 ILI-related work absence records in 2007–2008 and 1675 in 2008–2009

2. The mean work-loss hours per ILI were 23.6 in 2007–2008 and 23.9 in 2008–2009

3. Work-loss hours per episode were greater if the ILI episode was associated with hospitalization: 47.0 in 2007–2008 and 46.1 in 2008–2009

Turnea et al. (2020) [82] / Romania

Multiple

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Company decision-makers (N = 203)

Demand shock, service disruption, employment, financial loss, supply chain disruption, supply cost

Self-developed survey adapted from ILO

1. Containment measures included state of emergency declaration, and quarantine of workers

2. 29% companies stopped operations

3. 81% companies reported that demand is lower than normal

4. 18% companies dismissed workers due to COVID-19 crises; 9, 2, 2, 2 and 3% dismissed 1–10%, 11–20%, 21–30%, 31–40% and over 41% workers respectively

5. 52% companies had workers on temporary leave (furlough); 4, 5, 2, 5 and 35% sent 1–10%, 11–20%, 21–30%, 31–40%, and over 41% to furlough respectively

6. 17, 27 and 44% companies reported low, medium, and high level of financial impact on business and company operations respectively

7. 9, 12, 7, 6 and 45% companies reported 10–20%, 21–30%, 31–40%, 41–50, and 51% and over average monthly revenue decrease since state of emergency established

8. 40% companies reported that raw materials are not in stock or their purchase has become very expensive

Van der Feltz-Cornelis et al. (2020) [83] / UK

Education

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

University staff (N = 1055)

Absenteeism, presenteeism

iPCQ

1. 7% participant reported sickness absenteeism

2. 26% participant experienced presenteeism

Van der Merwe et al. (2021) [84] / South Africa

Agri-culture

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Wildlife ranching members (N = 601)

Demand shock, financial loss, employment

Self-developed survey

1. National containment measures included total lockdown

2. The estimated financial impact of COVID-19 on the private wildlife industry is USD0.99 billion

3. Average financial loss due to cancellations of hunters and ecotourist (> 77%) was USD122,100

4. The total loss in live game sales and game meat sales over the lockdown approximately USD80 million

5. 33% employees received reduced wages, 21% had to take unpaid leave, and 19% were laid off

Van Wormer et al. (2017) [85] / USA

Multiple

Influenza/H1N1 flu

2012–2016

Cross-sectional study

Marshfield workers (N = 1278)

Productivity

WPAI

1. There were 470 (37%) cases of influenza among workers, 179 (38%) of which are H1N1 flu

2. Influenza was significantly associated with workplace productivity loss (P < 0.001)

3. Regardless of vaccination, participants with A/H1N1pdm09, A/H3N2, or B infection had the greatest mean productivity loss (range, 67 to 74%), while those with non-influenza ARI had the lowest productivity loss (58 to 59%)

Webster et al. (2021) [86] / Central America

Multiple

COVID-19

2020-current

Longi-tudinal study

El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras & Nicaragua workers (T1 N = 808, T2 N = 827)

Employment, financial loss

World Bank enterprise survey, COVID-19 survey

1. Substantial total reduction (11.7%) in employment reported by firms both at T1 and T2; huge loss of employment for the hospitality sector (T1 41%, T2 26%), whereas some sectors reported increases in employment compared to pre-pandemic (e.g. chemicals, rubber)

2. All 4 countries reported average temporary closure of > 5 weeks at T1, implying overall loss of 322,000 labour weeks. At T2, an average of further temporary closures of 2.9 weeks was reported, with an implied loss of 159,000 labour weeks

3. Workers furloughed ranged from 11 to 30% in four countries

4. 26% of firms reduced the salaries of their employees and almost a third (32%) reduced hours of work

5. Average change in sales for firms was a reduction of just under one quarter of their sales one year previously

Widodo et al. (2020) [87] / Indonesia

Transport

COVID-19

2020-current

Cross-sectional study

Engineering employees (N = 65)

Productivity

Self-developed survey

1. Containment measures included isolation policy, and physican distancing

2. R² value (0.681) indicate that job stress and Covid-19 simultaneously affect workers’ productivity by 68%; with Covid-19 stress parameters being more influential than job stress on productivity

Yohannes et al. (2003) [88] / Australia

Multiple

Influenza

2002

Cross-sectional study

Australian workers

Absenteeism

National survei-llance system data analysis

1. National containment measures included surveillance

2. Data suggested an association between the peak in influenza activity and absenteeism

3. Influenza was responsible for 9825 hospital days in 2000–2001

Zaffina et al. (2019) [89] / Italy

Health-care

Influenza

2016–2018

Cross-sectional study

Paediatric hospital HCW (2016 N = 2090, 2017 N = 2097)

Absenteeism, work loss

Hospital record data analysis

1. The average absenteeism rate recorded a difference of 0.95 and 0.96 sickness absence days, respectively, between non-epidemic and epidemic periods

2. The total amount of days lost is 690.1 and 795.3 in 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 epidemic periods, respectively, for a total of 1.485,4 days lost

3. A total cost of USD 161,621.49 and USD 186,047.94 were calculated for 2016–2017 and 2017–2018, respectively