The flu and colds season is every employer’s nightmare. Sometimes they might not know what is the worse option for their business.
Employees who do not come to work because of seasonal illnesses or employees who come to work ill and then spread viruses to other employees.
Both options lead to lower productivity and efficiency.
Viruses are normal phenomena, especially during the fall and winter months.
You cannot protect your employees completely from them, but there is something you can do.
By following the next steps you will make your workplace environment as healthy and as productive as possible.
1. Never Forget Hygiene
Hands need to be washed using soap and hand sanitisers right before and after eating. Talk to your staff and encourage them to wash their hands as often as possible. You can even put up some posters or get creative about reminding them about regular hand washing in some other way.
Moreover, proper hand drying is also highly important since improper hand drying can lead to spreading bacteria. You should consider having some high-quality cloth or paper towel dispensers or maybe an air towel.
Also, provide tissues and gel sanitisers for all your employees. It is more than helpful to have them around in case of sneezing or coughing, don’t you think? Make sure that there is each of these at every corner of the workplace.
2. Improve Your Workplace Conditions
Fresh and clean air is something every workplace needs. Viruses and bacteria are not huge fans of it, but your staff should be. There are plenty of ways to improve the quality of the air.
The simplest ways to do this is getting some green plants in your office and ensuring the ventilation systems are clean. Moreover, cleaning and disinfecting the surfaces in your workplace will prevent the spread of germs enormously.
3. Encourage the Employees to Take Care of Themselves
Eating healthy, sleeping well, doing some exercises and relaxing improve and strengthen your immune system. Learn how to deal with stress and the best way to relax and calm your mind.
Encourage your employees to try with doing some office exercises. Doing any type of exercise would provide your immune system with a boost. After implementing these tips you will see that fighting off viruses has never been easier.
4. Educate Your Employees
It is extremely important that your employees know how to recognise the symptoms of a cold or the flu. Remind them how to protect themselves. The best way to do this is to have reminder posters in your workplace.
Putting up hygiene posters all over the place is not done because you don’t think that your employees are not able to take care of themselves. Busy environment often means that they have a lot on their minds and if not reminded, their attention to hygienic details may slip.
5. Keep Sick Employees Away From the Workplace
Lastly, there are numerous reasons why sick people shouldn’t come to work. Firstly, for purely human reasons – no one who does not feel good enough to work should be at work. Show your employees that it is all right if they need a day or two off in order to feel better.
Secondly, by staying at home, sick employees cannot spread the germs around the workplace and chances of other employees catching a cold or the flu are very low.
Health Should Always Come First
Having a healthy and clean workspace is crucial. Healthy employees and clients should be your top priority. If you are not sure what is the most efficient way to boost hygienic levels in your workplace, Alsco can help you do that without capital investments.
For instance, if a school is your business environment, this School Washroom Guide contains all you need to know about the New Zealand legal requirements and health and safety standards school washrooms must meet to keep germs at bay.
We provide plenty of useful and essential products and services, including hand sanitisers, different soaps, washroom essentials, as well as first aid supplies.
To get the best both for your workplace and your employees’ health, call Alsco and ask for their excellent services and tailored fees.
Photo courtesy of Freepik
Photo Courtesy of Flickr Images by @pressfoto
