Welcome to the first 2017 issue of KBzine. I hope you had a good break and that you are one of the few people who managed to avoid that dreadful virus that's had the majority of us laid low with raging sore throats and hacking coughs over the past month. My daughter has a theory that we tend to get sick around holiday times, because we can. That may sound odd but I feel she could have a point since her argument is that we're all so busy throughout the year, we don't have time to be unwell so we psychologically send the virus away until we have time to succumb to it. We relax and - poof - suddenly the virus takes hold! As I say, it sounds odd but I see it happen so often, perhaps it's true...

Another way of looking at it is that in the lead up to the holidays, we're so busy rushing around to meet deadlines, fulfil orders and tie-up loose ends before we finally leave the workplace, that we don't look after ourselves enough by eating well, resting or exercising enough and getting plenty of fresh air and a good night's sleep, thus leaving ourselves run down and vulnerable to attack.

Then there's the argument that we're physically closer to others around holiday times too, and thus more likely to pick up a virus when shoehorned into an aeroplane, for example, or squeezed into a tightly packed club or pub...

John and I, who were both unwell when we put our last issue together, reckon we're lucky to work from our respective home offices, since at least we can work as and when we're up to it (and can dress accordingly) and don't have to go out at some unearthly hour and de-ice our cars or pack into ridiculously crowded trains with the heating on full blast while we're sweating in our outdoor coats and hats! This year has been particularly bad for illness, which leads me to wonder how you cope.

Everyone seems to be running a pretty tight ship these days, so if even a quarter of your workforce are struck down, it leaves a gaping hole. And what about delivery drivers and fitters, who can't just suddenly double the workload to cover others' absences, or pull extra hours out of the hat to make up for time lost through being ill?

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Yours,

Jan Hobbs