According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 5 and 20 percent of Americans get the flu each year. On average, this causes employees to lose between one and three days of work per year. In addition, the flu virus is highly contagious, which means that it could cause a widespread problem in your office if not properly handled. Luckily there are simple steps that you can implement as a part of your employee wellness program in order to decrease the number of flu outbreaks in your office.
· Encourage employees to use their sick days. While it might seem rewarding to have employees that are so dedicated that they want to come to work even when they are sick, in the end they are only putting the rest of your staff at risk of contracting the flu, too. Instead, encourage a day or two of rest to decrease the risk of spreading the flu to others.
· Offer a flu shot clinic for your employees. As a part of your wellness program, you can provide a flu shot clinic right at your office. This makes it easy for your employees to obtain the flu shot that is recommended by the CDC. The flu shot is typically available around August every year. The earlier that your employees receive their vaccination, the more they are protected during flu season.
· Consistently clean high-traffic areas and provide disinfecting products, including wipes and hand sanitizer, for use throughout the day. By placing disinfecting wipes near phones and computers that are shared, you can encourage your employees to wipe them down before use to decrease the spread of germs.
While it is not 100 percent possible to eliminate all flu germs, giving your office a fighting chance at decreasing the spread of the highly contagious flu bug can help to keep your office staff healthy this year.