Typically marked by a widespread return to professional form, the first work week of the new year has instead been marred by the effects of the latest Omicron-led COVID-19 spike, The Wall Street Journal reports, as employers contend with an ongoing onslaught of coronavirus-related staff shortages.
This recent bout of employee absences is just "the latest strain on public and private sectors already worn down by the pandemic, supply chain snarls, labor shortages and rising prices," writes the Journal. Though many employees are reporting mild COVID symptoms, they must still miss multiple shifts, further complicating the already-stressful burden of scheduling.
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