What are some effective ways to protect your office against the flu?
Smart employers who take a proactive approach to managing their businesses seek the answer to this question before the dreaded flu season arrives. And for all the right reasons too.
Based on the data collected by the Centers for Disease Control, employees in the U.S. miss a total of about 17 million days of work as a result of suffering from the flu. This decrease in productivity further leads to a loss of approximately $7 billion for the economy.
Here, we list different ways to protect your office against the flu so that this seemingly minor illness doesn’t wreak havoc on your business.
Provide Flu Shots at Work
Vaccination is the first step toward the prevention of the common cold and influenza. But amidst handling the workload and balancing their personal and professional lives, employees tend to forget or are unable, to take time out to visit a vaccination clinic.
Therefore, consider providing on-site flu shots so that every employee can get their vaccines without facing any difficulty.
Help Employees Get Flu Shots Elsewhere
If hosting a vaccination clinic at your workplace isn’t a feasible option, make it easy for your staff to get the shots from any other appropriate place.
Make sure that the health plan offered to your employees covers the cost of flu shots, and allows them to take a day or at least a couple of hours off from work so that they can visit the community clinic or local pharmacy for the shots.
Maintain Basic Hygiene
Maintaining proper hygiene is a highly effective way to prevent the spread of flu in your office. Unfortunately, some people need to be reminded of basic manners like covering their mouths while sneezing and coughing.
Encourage your employees to follow the basic steps as set out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This includes the following steps for preventing sickness:
Washing your hands properly with soap every time you cough or sneeze, or use a hand sanitizer instead
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth as they are most susceptible to germs
Use a tissue to cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing. Dispose of the tissue paper immediately after use
During the flu season, avoid close contact like shaking hands with others whether or not either of you has caught the flu
Moreover, you should keep the office environment clean by using disinfectant sprays more often.
Prevent the Virus from Entering the Workplace
What is the best way to stop the flu from spreading in your office? Well, you need to stop it from entering the premises altogether.
Tell the employees to utilize their sick leaves and avoid coming to work until the symptoms subside. After all, that’s what sick leaves are for!
Or you can allow them to work from home instead.
Implement these tips to keep your office safe from the fast-transferring virus when the wave of influenza hits. To protect your employees from falling victim to the flu, get in touch with ServiceMaster Clean of Wake. We take all the necessary measures to minimize the chances of contamination and stop at nothing to prevent the flu from entering your workplace.
