As the flu season approaches, many workplaces are preparing for the impending sickness that’s bound to circulate. As you may have heard, this year’s flu vaccine isn’t the best match for year’s strain of the flu. However, being vaccinated will certainly make you at less risk of contracting the flu this season.
Even if you receive the vaccine, you should still be careful to take precautions to minimize your potential for contracting the flu this year. If you’re responsible for managing a team in the workplace, having multiple team members contract the flu can severely compromise your productivity.
If you’re responsible for managing the productivity of a work team, you’ll benefit from educating your employees on the important practices necessary to stay healthy this flu season. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu season peaks in the months of January and February, so now is an essential time to make sure your office stays healthy.
Fortunately, there are several easy, preventive actions that you can take on a daily basis to help prevent the flu and stop the spreading of germs in your workplace. Here are a few simple suggestions to help you prepare your office for the flu season:
Cover Mouth and Nose
When talking to your staff about staying healthy this flu season, you should start by reminding everyone to cover their noses and mouths when they cough or sneeze. While this should certainly be a common courtesy, it can never hurt to give your employees a friendly reminder.
Avoid Touching Eyes, Nose, or Mouth
Because the flu virus is spread largely from person-to-person contact, it’s important to avoid spreading germs that can get on your hands when you touch or have any sort of exchange with work colleagues. Also, you can avoid a buildup of germs by regularly washing essential items that you touch on a daily basis.
Wash Hands Frequently
Another great way to avoid spreading germs is to frequently make sure that your hands are clean. If you want to be sure that your employees are keeping their hands sanitary, be sure to keep your workplace stocked with extra tissues, soap, paper towels, alcohol-based hand rubs, and disposable wipes.
Stay Home if you Get Sick
When talking to your employees about this year’s flu season, be sure to let them know that it’s safer for everyone if they stay home in the event that they do get sick. While there can be pressure to show up for work when you’re feeling under the weather, it’s best for the team if the virus gets the least chance possible to spread around the entire office.
If you have several employees that perform certain tasks that not many others are capable of, you might consider training a few employees to be able to handle those duties, just in case one of your ‘indispensable’ employees falls victim to this year’s flu strain.
If you’re looking for a professional cleaning service to come in and make sure your office is spotless heading into this year’s flu season, give the experienced team at Regency Cleaning a call at 1-403-520-7788 today!
