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How To Keep The Flu Out Of Your Workplace

How To Keep The Flu Out Of Your Workplace

Posted by Mark Winokur on 2nd Mar 2018

Cold and flu prevention in the workplace - Man coughing at desk

Across the country, health professionals and news outlets have been warning about the hazards of the most recent strain of influenza, H2N3. The intensity of this strain has sent almost as many people to the emergency room as the Swine Flu did in 2009; and during the week of Feb 3 - Feb 10, over 22 related children deaths were reported. It’s pretty bad for adults too - it’s debilitating, contagious, and tough to get rid of.

For a business, this hard-hitting strain can quickly spread across your entire staff team, leading to staff shortages and loss of production. Workplace flu can be expensive for a business. Preventing a major flu breakout at your workplace starts with the right preparation, from the items you keep in your first aid cabinet to the policies you have in place for dealing with ill employees. In the following post we will examine the effects of workplace flu and give you the cold and flu season safety tips you need for optimal flu prevention in the workplace.

The Cost of Flu On Your Business

Flu-ridden employees can be costly to a business whether they stay at home or whether they come to work. According to the CDC, between 5-20% of the population comes down with the flu on an annual basis. This means that if you have 100 employees, you can expect that up to 20 of them will come down with a flu illness each year. Your business will be affected by the flu in some way at some point, but whether you will deal with a minor situation or a major breakout may be directly correlated to whether your business has proper flu precautions in the workplace.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that productivity losses linked to sickness costs employers $225.8 billion annually in the United States; or approximately $1,685 per employee. Around 60% of this cost is actually due to “presenteeism”, or workers who still come to work even though they are sick. When employees come to work while dealing with influenza, their performance suffers drastically and the odds of other employees picking up the virus almost becomes inevitable.

Encouraging Strong Employee Health

Most large businesses can’t afford to lose $1,685 per sick employee, especially if 20% of their workforce ends up ill. Small businesses are even more vulnerable during the cold and flu season. Employers are now realizing that it’s much cheaper to implement proper flu precautions in the workplace early on to prevent these viruses from becoming a major problem later. Here are some strategies that some businesses have adopted to help to best promote flu safety in the workplace:

  • Flu Vaccinations: Workers usually know that getting a flu vaccination shot is beneficial to avoiding illness, yet only 41% of adults have reported receiving a flu vaccine. Even employees who fully intend to get a flu shot may forget to do so when the flu season comes around. To maximize the number of employees vaccinated, some organizations have started hosting in-house flu clinics sponsored by corporations such as Rite Aid and Walgreens. Having professionals on-site administering the flu shot makes it ultra convenient for employees, while giving employers the comfort in knowing that their staff members have taken an important step in workplace flu prevention.
  • Immune System Health Education: Avoiding influenza begins with having a strong personal immune system. Employees don’t always recognize that there are steps that can be taken to decrease their likelihood of catching the flu. Those that are aware of these steps don’t always remember to implement them. Some employers take the initiative to educate their employees on immune system health with cold and flu prevention handouts, pamphlets with flu safety tips, brochures, and even discounts for immunity boosting supplements like Vitamin C. Educating your staff about immune system health can come at an expense - but nowhere near the expense of losing ⅕ of your employees for a two-week period right in the middle of your busiest season!
  • Stop Smoking Rewards: The CDC also reports that approximately 20% of employees smoke cigarettes. Tobacco smoking introduces high levels of tar and other chemicals into a smoker’s body. Along with the many detrimental health effects of smoking, it is also known to weaken the immune system and make your body less effective at fighting off infections. Some businesses have implemented stop smoking programs, contests and rewards to encourage their employees to drop the bad habit. These programs help improve overall employee health, while giving your staff the best chance of avoiding outbreak during flu season.

Minimizing the Spread of Illness at Your Workplace

Even if your whole team receives the flu shot, you won’t be able to completely eliminate the potential for H2N3 or any other flu strain to push its way into your workplace. However, when flu season arrives, there are several measures that an employer can take to minimize the spread of influenza and lessen the impact on the business. Some of these methods for flu safety in the workplace include:

  • Keeping the Facility Clean: Unfortunately, the exchange of germs is extremely common in workplaces. Not only is there more physical contact (such as handshake greetings); but there are also many common surfaces that multiple employees touch throughout the day, such as door handles, computer keyboards, file cabinet drawers and more. Eliminating these germs before they can exchange “hosts” is imperative to stopping the spread of the illness. Keep disinfectant on hand and encourage employees to use it frequently. Clean work surfaces multiple times a day during flu season and encourage your employees to keep their personal workspaces as sterilized as possible.
  • Proper Practices for Coughing and Sneezing: If a flu-ridden person openly coughs or sneezes, it is likely that germs will become airborne. A co-worker yawning at the next desk could easily breathe in these germs and become ill. Encourage your employees to cough and sneeze into Kleenex sheets, and make sure that there is a sufficient amount of Kleenex around the workplace. If employees can’t access a tissue, it’s best for them to cover their mouth using their upper sleeve or the joint of their arm. This prevents germs from escaping into the air, while minimizing the chance that the ill individual will leave the bug behind by touching surfaces with their germ-laced hands.
  • Encouraging Frequent Hand Washes: You can completely sterilize the entire facility once every hour, but as soon as an employee coughs into their hand and goes on to shake someone else’s hand, the illness will still be spread. Encourage your employees to wash their hands frequently. Keep hand sanitizer in your first aid cabinet so that employees can access it quickly and at need. Eliminating the exchange of germs is critical to preventing flu in the workplace.
  • Sick Employee Policies: The most effective way to keep the flu from spreading through your workplace is to implement proper sick employee policies and enforce them. One ill employee can quickly turn into a workplace flu outbreak. Offer your employees a set number of paid-sick days and require them to stay at home when they are seriously ill, contagious, or flu-ridden. Support your ill workers as much as possible, but make sure to protect your healthy workers so that they don’t become ill as well. Keep in mind that 60% of employer’s expenses related to sick employees derives from those who are present, not those who are absent.

At Workforce First Aid, we are committed to helping you keep your staff safe, healthy and feeling their best while on the job. Want to learn more about workplace health? Get more information on fulfilling OSHA Regulations or check out our Quik Pik Ordering page to easily choose the first aid products required for your specific business.