Make money from swine flu

And the award for cynical use of swine flu as a way to generate media interest in your company goes to…Abbey Business Centres! :: Rapturous applause ::

No doubt, swine flu is a nasty little pandemic and is responsible for deaths around the world. But it is also proven no more potent than its much more established compadre ‘flu’ flu, which has claimed millions of scalps over the years.

In its most celebrated case so far, that of Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint, the victim said he was “scared” at his diagnosis because of the media maelstrom surrounding the disease, but ironically had already staged a full recovery by the time the news reached him.

"It was quite scary when they first told me I had swine flu, after what's been in the press and stuff. I thought, 'Am I going to die?'” said Grint, reported in The Telegraph. “But it was honestly fine. I just had a sore throat and was in bed for a while."  

Run for the hills!! Or not.

Imagine my interest, then, in a press release circulated today by Abbey Business Centres, warning: “We regularly test and update our own Contingency Plan and in relation to Swine Flu we have put steps in place to help prevent possible cross-site infections.”

How do you test for a flu outbreak? Send everyone home and tell them to come back after two days? “Regular” testing of this contingency would seem a little over-baked and liable to cost more than if the pandemic actually got a foothold in your office.

Here’s my alternative contingency plan: if people call in sick, suggest they stay in bed until the worst is over. If they don’t, expect them at work as normal. Revolutionary, I know.

But if you are of a nervous disposition and require a “virtual office package” to compliment your emergency flu strategy then by all means contact our pals at Abbey on 0800 634 6346.

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By Dan Matthews  on   Jul 08,2009

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Keywords

swine flu    business continuity    flu    disease    illness    sick days    continuity planning   

Comments

finbar
haha, that's hilarious. but you can't blame them for having a go! Report Abuse

Louisa Nardini
Very funny, I enjoyed reading this blog so thanks for sharing
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Paul
Dan - I think it's you that's being cynical over swine flu and generating a story from nothing. Have you read the press release from Abbey? Abbey offers office space and meeting rooms like Regus. It's press release - though admittedly a little ambulance chasing - is merely notifying people that they can offer short-notice meeting and office solutions should a business find it struggling with swine flu. Far from "making money" from Swine Flu, this is good marketing. Many companies with a swine flu problem might prefer to host meetings off-site or rent some space in the very short term to minimize the risk of infection. As a business writer you should know that the real "risk" of swine flu isn't death, its lost revenue due to downtime, and with a virulent highly contagious infection, that risk is very real. I think your article suffers from exactly the same problem you infer on Abbey.
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Paul
Oh, and I forgot. You chastise them for testing and talking about cross-site infection. Have you not considered their business model? If word gets out that one of their locations has an outbreak how many companies are going to book office or meeting room space? The need to communicate the fact that they are vigilant for any cases of swine flu and have plans in place should infection occur is arguably a top priority for Abbey. Come on chap, think about what you're writing before you write it. This is a site that's supposed to offer advice and guidance to business.
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