Human Resources: Most Americans Lacking Direction from their Employers for the H1N1 Flu Season, Survey Shows

New York, September 21, 2009 Most workers have not had any direction from
their employers about the upcoming flu season, according to a national
survey released today by Mansfield Communications Inc.
In the survey of a national representative sample, 69 per cent of
respondents say they have received no communication about policies in the
workplace pertaining to H1N1‹ not even information related to hand washing
or sick leave.

The survey, conducted by Angus Reid Strategies for Mansfield Communications
Inc., interviewed 1,028 workers from Sept. 10th 2009 thru Sept. 12th 2009.
It was intended to gauge the readiness of workers for the pending H1N1
pandemic. The margin of error is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

The poll found that a large majority (84%) of American workers believe the
recession creates more pressure to show up for work‹ even if they are
feeling sick.

³Many workers are understandably concerned about how absenteeism due to
sickness will impact their job security in the current economic environment.
However, sick employees coming into the office during the H1N1 flu season
will undermine the health and productivity of the entire workplace,² said
Rob Ireland, partner at Mansfield Communications Inc.

³Employers need to clearly communicate with employees about such things as
extended sick leave policy and procedures to minimize the spread of
infection. During a pandemic, employers must become trusted sources of
information and help employees make the right choices.²

The majority of the workers surveyed (80%) felt they were knowledgeable
about precautions that should be taken if the virus reached their workplace.
Yet approximately half (47%) of the respondents said that they would still
engage in public activities (such as riding the bus, picking up a
prescription or grocery shopping) even when they were infected with H1N1 and
required to stay home from their office due to a company-imposed quarantine.

³The gap between professed knowledge and practice is alarming,² said
Ireland. ³Nearly half of respondents said that they would continue to engage
in public activities with full knowledge of their infection. Clearly, there
is much to be done to educate America¹s workforce and help people act
appropriately in order to contain the spread of H1N1.²

Additional poll findings:
When asked how concerned they were about the H1N1 Virus, approximately 50%
of workers rated their concern a six or higher on a scale of 1-10.
When asked if they planned to get vaccinated if a vaccine was made available
this fall, 49% of all respondents said yes and 51% said no.
When asked about public activity while infected, 52% of men said that they
were either somewhat or very likely to engage in it, while 43% of women said
the same.

About Mansfield Communications Inc.
Mansfield Communications is a full-service marketing and communications
agency servicing the global needs of its North American clients through its
offices in New York, San Francisco and Toronto. The expertise of Mansfield
spans public and media relations, analyst and investor relations, crisis
communications, brand and marketing consultation, integrated marketing
strategy, media relations, internal communications and speakers bureau
management. Mansfield consultants have a wide range of industry experience,
including B-to-B and B-to-C technology, consumer products and services,
biotechnology, financial services, real estate, mining and public sector
accounts.

About the Poll/ Margin of error
From September 10 to September 12, 2009, Angus Reid Strategies conducted an
online survey among a randomly selected, representative sample of 1,028
adult Americans. The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 3.1%, 19
times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to
the US Census Bureau¹s Statistics most current education, age, gender and
regional data to ensure a representative sample of the entire adult
population of United States. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to
rounding. This Angus Reid Strategies poll was conducted using the
Springboard America online panel (www.springboardamerica.com), which is
recruited via an industry-leading process that incorporates a randomized,
widespread invitation approach and a triple opt-in screening procedure. The
panel is maintained through state-of-the-art sampling techniques and
frequent verifications of personal identity, contact information, and
demographic characteristics.