Coughing, sneezing, aching, complaining. Flu season is just around the corner and, as one of Miami’s top temp staffing agencies, Future Force knows it can be a major disruption in the workplace. Employees who work in close quarters – and let’s face it, most do – are especially susceptible. What can you do to ensure your staff doesn’t get sidelined by flu this season? Here are some tips to help you:
- Create a flu policy and stick to it. Unfortunately, many companies send mixed signals to employees by telling them to stay home when sick, then frowning upon the use of sick days. Don’t be one of them. Let your employees know that if they have the flu, then they need to remain at home. If you have staff who come to work and clearly have the flu, send them home.
- Make sure managers set an example. Don’t have a flu policy and then let managers stay at work when they’re clearly ill. In fact, your managers should be the ones setting the example for the rest of the team.
- Make it easy to clean and sanitize the office. When the flu is going around, provide your employees with disinfecting wipes that they can use to clean their office space and common areas. Doing so can significantly reduce the occurrence of flu in the workplace. In fact, a recent study for The Healthy Workplace Project by Dr. Charles Gerba of the University of Arizona found that washing, wiping and sanitizing in the workplace reduces the probability of catching the flu or common cold by 80%.
- Encourage employees to wash hands often. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, regular handwashing is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs to others.
- Host a flu clinic. Likewise, the CDC also recommends getting flu vaccines. One way to encourage employees to do that is to host an on-site flu clinic right in your office.
- Don’t make employees bring in sick notes. Not only does it send the message that you don’t trust them, but it also makes it a hassle for them to stay home when they’re truly sick.
- Offer paid sick leave. One of the biggest reasons sick employees come to work is because they can’t afford not to. In fact, according to some figures, more than 40 million U.S. workers don’t have any paid sick days.
Every year, nearly 111 million workdays are lost due to the flu – which equates to approximately $7 billion a year in sick days and lost productivity. Follow the tips above and help protect your people and your profits from the flu.
Need help filling positions on a temporary basis due to sick or maternity leave? Call Future Force. As one of Miami’s top temp staffing agencies (2011 Top Ranked Firm – Staffing Industry Analysts, Top 100 Minority Business, and Hispanic Business 500), we can handle the hiring process for you – from sourcing candidates to conducting interviews and skills testing. You can focus on other priorities, while we deliver top temporary talent. Contact us today to tell us more about your needs.