The flu has been especially bad this year with peak levels in Canada and elevated levels in all areas of the United States. While you may not be able to prevent your employees from getting the flu, there are a few ways to help keep the flu away from your facility.
Flu Shots
Some maintain that offering flu shots at work is an excellent idea but if that is something you would rather not deal with or feel would be interfering with your employees’ personal choices, why not make it easier for them to get the flu shot away from work?
For instance, make sure (if possible) that employees have coverage for the flu shot and let them know when flu shots are being given in your area. Either post the schedules and locations or send out a memo allowing them a reminder if they choose to get one. Another thing to keep is mind is to allow more flexibility for your employees to get the flu shot done off-site.
Remind Employees of Hygiene
Basic hygiene is imperative in keeping the flu in check. Remind employees to wash their hands often, avoid too much contact like shaking hands during the flu season, to cover their sneezes and coughs, use only their own equipment like phones or headsets, and to use hand sanitizer when possible. It will help if your facility is equipped with the basics like plenty of soap and hand sanitizer as well as food items like juice, tea, apples, and even healthy supplemental medicine like Emergen-C. Using a CMMS program to ensure all hand wash stations are stocked and ready to go helps combat the spread of the flu and cold germs.
Read More: Preparing For The Winter Cold Season
Keep it Away
One way that helps keep the flu to a minimum is to not allow employees to come in with the flu in the first place so that it is not spread. Encourage them to use their sick days or if possible, work from home until it is safe to be around others. While this is sometimes hard to do, if you have an outbreak at your facility you will have more people out of work and things will get behind due to unnecessary downtime.
You may not be able to full keep the flu away but these suggestions will help keep it minimized.
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