Here’s How To Prevent The Flu Outbreak In The Office This Spring

Flu has a negative effect or any company by damaging its productivity immensely. It’s not only the business that suffers, first and foremost, but it’s also the people who, due to poor conditions of general hygiene, are exposed directly to this nasty virus which turns out to be bad for everyone in the corporate food chain.

It wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if numbers didn’t show that a lot of employees are unable to perform their daily duties, or even come to work at all, due to an outbreak of flu at work. Luckily, there are ways to fight this. I was particularly interested in this topic due to the fact that I spend half of my day in an office and thus I am directly susceptible to flu, or any other virus.

I discovered that hygiene plays the major role in the prevention of this disease so I went straight to the cleaning experts over at Super Clean 360 from Berkley to find out more about how to combat this, and more importantly how to prevent an outbreak in a working environment. There are a few different ways to combat this:

Vaccinate your employees

This is probably the best way to ensure that your employees are all well protected against flu, which would benefit both the company and them as individuals, which is in everyone’s best interest.

Getting a flu shot is not the same as going to the grocery store especially due to the fact that people maybe don’t have enough time to take out of their busy day for that. What you can do is:

  • Organize vaccination at work: This is probably the fastest way because all the people would be getting the vaccine at the same time and productivity losses would be minimal.
  • Give individual time-offs: If it is impossible to organize vaccination at work, you can give your employees a day off to do this themselves and have the rest of the day for themselves.
  • Keep your employees informed: Educating people is very important and the best place to start. Being conscious about the flu and how it spreads is the first step to preventing it.

Basic hygiene as a weapon against germs

It’s no secret that basic hygiene can help combat flu. Actually, it’s one of the most important elements necessary to stop it from spreading. Employees should wash hands regularly and it is not rude to have them reminded often, either verbally or through other means.

Hand sanitizer should be made available in various locations throughout the office. If they are sick they should stay at home. They need to put a hand on their mouth if they are coughing or sneezing.

Even if the commercial cleaning service is taking care of everyone’s desk, each and every employee should put in an extra effort to disinfect their own space.

Disinfection as protection

One of the best ways to ensure that office space is truly safe from germs is regular disinfection. A standard cleaning every now and then simply won’t cut it because it won’t kill pesky microorganisms.

You need to hire a professional cleaning service who is regularly going to disinfect your working area. They will clean the desks, computers, keyboards, phone handles, door knobs, furniture, floors, etc.

Just about any item that comes in contact with humans on a regular basis. This is particularly important during a flu season when you need to take extra care and double-check whether your offices are thoroughly cleaned.

If you follow these simple steps, chances are that you will be well shielded from the next flu season. It’s too late when it already spreads, the key is in stopping it beforehand.