This blog post was written by Shelley Johnson
This year’s cold and flu season is nothing to sniff at. With smaller workforces doing more work, employers and employees are counting on having all hands on deck. As flu season approaches companies around the world are taking proactive measures to protect their employees and their business. The common cold can be enough to ripple through the work force from coworker to coworker, without the added concern of serious dangers to high-risk groups that might contract highly contagious swine flu.
What can employees do to prevent the spread of illnesses?
• Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially after coughing or sneezing.
• When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth with your arm or use a tissue (versus your hand).
• Routinely clean surfaces and items that are more likely to have frequent hand contact.
• You are encouraged to get a seasonal flu vaccination.
• Avoid contact with others if you feel you are developing flu-like symptoms.
• We will be cross-training staff to perform essential functions to ensure that business operations can continue if a high number of employees are absent due to illness.
Employees experiencing flu-like symptoms are being encouraged by their employers to go home and remain there for at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100ºF) or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines.
What can employers do to help keep their workforce healthy?
• Communicate preventative measures to employees.
• Provide items to help with preventative measures, such as tissues, hand sanitizer, no touch waste baskets and cleaning solutions for surfaces.
• Encourage employees to get the seasonal flu vaccination and employees at high risk for flu complications to get the 2009 H1N1 flu vaccination when they become available.
• Encourage sick employees at higher risk of complications from flu to contact their health care provider as soon as possible.
• Prepare a policy to supplement the company’s sick leave policy addressing what employees should do if they get the flu virus
• Formulate a plan and prepare for increased employee absences, such as cross-training staff to perform essential functions to ensure that business operations can continue.
• Decide in advance what jobs/work can be performed at home, including an approval process to ensure consistent application and accurate payroll recordkeeping.
• Prepare for the possibility of school dismissals or temporary closures of child care programs. (Please Note: Employees may qualify for Sick Child Leave under OFLA.)
• Develop a communication plan in case of widespread infection in the workplace.
Working together, employees and employers can work to maintain a healthy workplace and a healthy workforce.
