The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend employees with swine flu stay home for seven days or until they’ve been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever’s longer, according to a recent Chicago Tribune article.

Seven or more days is a long absence, especially in this economy. Many managers will probably be reluctant to allow that much time off. But they need to understand how low productivity could drop if the flu spreads to several workers.

Some of the ways the Tribune reports companies are dealing with the issue:

1. Financial company CME Group, Inc., has beefed up its telecommuting capacity so more employees can work from home if necessary.
2. In addition to offering seasonal flu shots and adding hand sanitizer dispensers in its offices, Kraft developed a special emergency response plan that includes options such as bringing employees from other areas to plants hard hit by absenteeism.
3. Ravinia Plumbing and Heating, a company of fewer than 40 employees, has cross-trained workers so operations won’t be disrupted if some folks are absent.

Has your company taken any steps to deal with the anticipated swine flu outbreak? Let us know in the comments section below.

One key is finding out how the commute to your company would compare with a candidate’s current and previous commutes.

If yours would be quicker/easier, than that’s a selling point to use if the candidate hasn’t fully decided to change jobs.

On the other hand, if the candidate would have to spend a lot of time on the road, you’ll want to make sure that won’t become a problem if that person gets hired. You can find out if candidates have ever had to make a similar trek and ask how they handled it. If it turns out they left a job because of it, that might be a warning sign of a potential retention problem.

However, as long as it’s not a deal breaker, a long commute can help you tailor your selling points so that an offer’s more likely to be accepted. For example, if the company gives (or can give) benefits like flex-time, compressed work weeks or telecommuting, make sure the candidate understands that. Even if those are things not everyone cares about, in some situations they can make a big difference.

“I live too far away to work here.”

About 23% of employers say they’ve had applicants turn down an offer because of the length of the commute, according to a recent survey by the Generator Group. Only 13% said the same thing a year ago.

Transportation costs are also negatively impacting retention — 18% say they’ve had employees quit over the commute, compared to just 5% last year.

In addition to fuel prices, the housing market has made relocation less of a viable option for people looking to change jobs. More than half (55%) of companies say candidates’ reluctance to relocate is one of their top three recruiting challenges.

As one way around these problems, the Generator Group recommends offering telecommuting as an option for desirable candidates who aren’t willing to move or suffer through a long commute.

Companies see a lot of benefits from telecommuting, such as attracting better and more productive workers, according to a recent survey by the Computing Technology Industry association.

The top benefits employers reported:

• More productivity when commutes are eliminated (67%)
• Cost savings because less energy and office space is used (59%)
• Access to a wider pool of qualified staff (39%)
• Higher retention rates (37%)
• Better employee health through reduced stress (25%)

Most are reluctant to increase benefits like subsidized gas cards or transit passes, according to a recent survey by TransitCenter, Inc.

Despite concerns about how those costs will effect recruitment, 59% of employers said they aren’t able to offer new benefits because of the financial burden.

Those that have taken steps are focused mostly on low- or no-cost options. The most common programs:

• Flextime (49%)
• Telecommuting (42%)
• Tax-free accounts to spend on mass transit, in accordance with IRS regs (42%), and
• Subsidized shuttle or carpool programs (10%).

Answer: Gas prices.

In a recent survey by Beyond.com, 20,000 employees were asked what steps they’re considering to help lighten the burden of rising fuel costs. The bad news for employers: 79% answered “finding a job closer to home.”

What can employers do to keep them on board? Offering employees some assistance before they start looking through the classifieds could help.

Besides switching employers, workers were also interested in:

• telecommuting (13%)
• taking public transportation (6%), and
• carpooling (2%).

By helping employees implement those three choices, companies may avoid a potentially serious turnover problem.

Long commutes.

Employees were asked if they’d turn down a job because the new commute would be significantly longer in a recent poll by Management Recruiters International.

The result: 75% said yes.

Give them incentives

Long drives are becoming more of a factor to candidates, as commutes become more costly and the housing slump makes relocating increasingly difficult.

What’s the solution? During interviews and when you make offers, emphasize any benefits you offer to help workers deal with fuel costs — for example, telecommuting options, public transit discounts, flex-time, etc.

As gas prices are rising, about 30% of employees admit they’ve started looking for new jobs closer to home, says a recent survey by Robert Half International.

Because of that, some companies have started offering employees and candidates more flexible arrangements. According to the survey:

• 18% of companies have increased mileage reimbursements for business travel
• 17% have started using ride sharing services, and
• 11% have started letting workers telecommute.

Based on those numbers, it looks like employers might not be doing enough to keep employees satisfied as gas prices rise.

To hang on to the 30% of folks who are thinking about changing jobs, some employers might need to make more substantial changes.

What’s the best solution? Ask employees what they want from you. Have managers find out ways their commuting woes might be eased and explore those options.

Tell us: What have you done to ease the pain? Has it made a difference in retention and satisfaction? Let us know in the comments section.