Careers put on hold by long COVID

Long COVID is disrupting careers and undermining livelihoods across the UK. The consequences are traumatic and debilitating for sufferers, and employers must do the most they can to reassure and support affected people.

A quarter (24%) of the UK’s 2.1 million sufferers say they’ve had to stop working altogether for a significant period, according to a new survey of over 1000 sufferers conducted through CensusWide in October. Another quarter (24%) have reduced their working hours, while 19% have reduced or ended overtime commitments. Nearly everyone diagnosed (98%) says the condition has negatively affected their ability to work. And this is happening, of course, at the same time multiple cost-of-living crises have hit household budgets across the country.

While most people recover from acute COVID within a couple of weeks, a significant proportion (around 3%) develop longer term symptoms for weeks, months, even years after the initial infection. There’s still a lot we don’t understand about long COVID, from a medical perspective, but what’s become very clear is the extent of the physical and emotional toll it typically brings, and the support and understanding required to help those unfortunate enough to be affected. 

The survey found that the majority of sufferers (59%) say they feel more tired since they acquired the condition; 42% say they’re physically weaker following onset; 37% report a diminished ability to concentrate. A fifth of sufferers (19%) say they’re in physical pain while they’re working. 

In terms of the mental and emotional impact, nearly a third (31%) say their long COVID symptoms include anxiety, while more than a fifth (21%) report being less confident at work since they were affected.

For many, the impacts on body and mind created by the condition have put a halt to their careers: 23% of affected people have stopped full-time work, 12% have moved to part-time work and 19% stopped working altogether.

Young and old hit hard

Workers aged 35 and older are more likely to say they are affected by the physical components of the condition than younger people, with two thirds (65%) saying they suffered fatigue and lower energy levels. Just over half (52%) say they feel weaker.

By contrast, younger workers – those aged 16-34 – are more likely to suffer from the psychological impacts of long COVID. A quarter of young people (23%) say the condition has had a negative impact on their confidence, as opposed to 20% of over 35s. They also feel less connected to colleagues (14%). Looking longer term, 28% of younger sufferers say they have become less ambitious as a consequence of their reduced capabilities. And nearly a third (32%) said they were less hopeful about their future career opportunities.

One young person we spoke to, Meredith Leston, aged 28, has been suffering the effects of long COVID for two and a half years, and describes the damage inflicted on her life: “During the course of my illness, I have lost friends, work and my self image as the indestructible young person I was supposed to be. I was blindsided by my own body and I lost the momentum I had spent a lifetime building overnight.”

Meredith says: “For employers, trust, openness and flexibility are certainly important, but the key factor is the continued communication from your employer that ‘we are on your side’.”

A crisis of compassion

Unfortunately, though, perhaps with COVID, long or otherwise, rarely hitting the headlines in recent times and a desire to make up for lost time, many employers are not responding to this further health crisis with the compassion and understanding they might.

The majority of sufferers (61%) agree they are “dragging themselves into work as they have no choice”. Around half (49%) of those struggling with work say their employers “don’t understand their condition” and feel unable to ask for time off, or for extra support to help make their working lives more bearable. 

This lack of support has worsened over time. When they were first diagnosed with long COVID, 13% felt their employer gave them poor support. That figure has risen to 16% over the period since their diagnosis. 

Obviously, employers cannot make these people medically better but it's clear from our research that they have a role to play, starting with better understanding the toll of long COVID and considering ways they can support those who continue to suffer. Because the condition can produce very different symptoms with an unpredictable progression, it’s important to treat each affected person as an individual with a unique illness. All sufferers will welcome signals of trust and humanity, reassuring sufferers of support, to avoid adding undue stress to a difficult situation.

Rachel Suff, Senior Wellbeing Advisor for the CIPD, the professional association for HR officers, told us its own research showed that only a quarter of organisations (26%) are providing training and guidance for line managers to support people to work while managing long-term health conditions. This is in spite of the fact that CIPD also found that one in four (26%) employers now include long COVID among their main causes of long-term sickness absence. 

She told us: “Organisations should urgently review their health and wellbeing strategy and ensure they are providing effective provision for those with long COVID, recognising that each individual’s experience is different. They should foster a supportive and inclusive culture that helps employees feel confident to discuss a health condition and ask for support or helpful changes when needed, such as a phased return or flexible working arrangements.”

The CIPD has more information on supporting employees with long COVID.