Flu season is upon us. It’s time to restock the medical supply cabinet with over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, to prepare for an uptick in sick day redemptions, and to get your flu shot.
Implementing a flu-preventive strategy is the best way to keep your employees informed about the flu and to create a healthy work environment.
How the flu can affect business.
The flu can impact a company’s bottom line when preventative actions aren’t put into place or followed through. A company incurs a cost when an employee takes a sick day, of course, but also when he or she comes into work under the weather.
Team members who are feeling ill are less productive and can make others sick when coming to work. When this happens, payroll and human resources see a spike in sick day requests. The Disability Management Employer Coalition estimates that lost workdays increase up to 30% when employees come to work sick, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates $7 billion in paid sick days and lost productivity.
With these statistics in mind, it’s important to have a flu-preventative strategy in place to combat this cyclical virus. Each year a new strain emerges, which can have a detrimental domino effect on your staff. When one worker shows symptoms, others soon follow. Take action now before the flu greatly affects your business. Keep the flu at bay this year in your office with these tips:
Tips to keep the flu at bay:
-
Offer a flu shot incentive
Offering an incentive is a great way to make flu shots happen. Sure, not getting sick should be incentive enough. However, everyone needs a push now and then. Most insurance plans cover the cost of the vaccine, so offer something like a point-based system for when employees hit a certain goal, they can redeem their points for a prize of some kind.
For example, award 100 points for all those who’ve signed up and received their flu shot. When an employee reaches their target goal, they can cash in their points for a reward. If you have part-time or contract employees, incentivize them by offering to cover the full or a portion of the flu shot cost.
-
Hand out wellness giveaways
Gifts can do wonders for getting a group of people on board for an activity. Passing out employee wellness giveaways is an excellent way to promote employee health. Employee wellness giveaway ideas you might consider include yoga mats, stress reliever balls, fitness activity trackers, mini first-aid kits, and tote-sized hand sanitizers.
-
Routinely sanitize and disinfect
Ramp up the routine of sanitizing and disinfecting the areas around the office – don’t forget the air you breathe in! You can reduce the amount of virus-laden germs employees come into contact with by wiping down everything, including desks, light switches, the breakroom refrigerator handle, and countertops.
Make supplies, like hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, air sanitizing spray, and hand soap, easily accessible so employees can grab them as needed. It might be a good idea to stock up on some tissues too, just in case.
-
Encourage flu education
Whether it’s through friendly e-blast reminders or tips, or informative webinars about flu prevention techniques, encouraging flu education is a must around the office. Send tips to your staff a couple of times a week to remind them of best practices during the flu season, statistics on flu shots, and where to find cleaning products for sanitizing their workspace.
-
Bring flu shots to the office
Providing employees in-office flu shots is an excellent way to boost morale and protect the company and its employees. The convenience of walking down the hall from your desk to have a shot administered, rather than taking time off to drive to the doctor’s office, is a huge benefit to your employees.
Employers see great perks of having a vaccination clinic in-office. Less time is taken off by staff to get vaccinated, there’s a decrease in illness absences, and vaccinations are typically covered by the company’s health insurance plan.
-
Allow work from home flexibility
If you want to keep the virus from spreading, be flexible when it comes to employees working from home. Since the flu isn’t restricted to just the office, allow those with sick children and other family members to remote in if possible.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that those with the flu are the most contagious during the first three days of showing symptoms and should remain home for at least 24 hours after their fever is broken without help from OTC medicine. A fever may not be present in an employee, and those individuals should stay home 4-5 days after onset of symptoms.
Don’t forget to include your clients and customers!
Make sure to include your clients and customers in your flu-preventive strategy. You can do this through a marketing campaign! This campaign should be educational and show that you care about them. Below are some ideas for your flu preventive marketing campaign targeting your clients and customers:
- Health and wellness kit. Send your clients and customers a fun, fully-loaded kit that contains everything they need to get through the challenging cold and flu season. A thoughtful kit of products can help them (and their customers/clients) stay healthy.
- Infographic e-blast. Educate your clients by sending them an infographic with flu prevention tips. Be sure you include statistics about washing hands, keeping office desks clean, and what to do if they begin to feel ill.
- Social sharing. Share your flu education content, including art assets, infographics, and blogs, on your social media channels. You’ll reach more customers and clients with your posts and increase engagement in the process.
Consider introducing an employee wellness program.
Companies that implement an employee wellness program are investing in their human capital. A successful program is one that is informative but also encourages employee participation in a fun and engaging way.
Many programs emphasize the importance of inclusive employee health, from physical to mental and even financial health. A program generally includes biometric screenings, educational seminars and workshops, assistance programs, and a goal-setting platform where participants can track their progression.
Programs are often incentivized to motivate employees, whether it’s through the gifting of promotional water bottles or duffel bags, free gym memberships, or setting up a group exercise competition. Employers have benefits as well. With healthier employees hard at work, you’ll see an increase in productivity.
Team members enjoy working at companies that have workplace wellness programs as part of their company culture. Staff retention is a huge benefit in addition to a reduction in absenteeism and health risks. Employee wellness programs work so well that they have been shown to boast an average return on investment of about 6:1, according to a study by the Harvard Business Review.
Craft a flu-preventive strategy now!
Keep these tips in mind when you’re creating a flu-preventative strategy in the workplace. Flu education is the most important resource. Make sure that your staff knows where they can find these resources, when and where they can sign up for a vaccination appointment, and what items (like a health insurance card) they need to bring with them on the day of. You got this!