Keeping your employees healthy and illness free isn’t only a benefit to them, but your business as a whole.
Besides, when one employee shows up to work sick, it can easily affect the rest of your staff.
With that in mind, here are just a few ways you can lessen the chances of illness at your workplace:
Consequences of Workplace Sickness
Whether your employees work in close proximity to one another or your offices are more widespread, cold, coughs, and sickness can spread quickly in any work environment.
As mentioned above, when employees come to work with a contagious cold, it can end up affecting your entire staff.
Not only are sick employees less productive, they can also distract other employees or worse, spread the illness to others in the workplace.
Before you know it, your entire staff could be calling in sick. That’s why it’s so important to do all you can to reduce workplace sickness.
Sick Days
Sometimes your workers may be too sick to come to work, but they do it anyways because they don’t want to use the limited sick days they have.
By increasing the number of sick days your employees are allowed to take each year, you can reduce the chances of sick employees showing up to work.
Just make sure you offer full pay for the majority of sick days you offer. If the sick days you offer aren’t paid, your employees may still come to work.
A fair sick leave policy will ensure your employees stay at home and have the necessary time to recover from their illness.
Sanitizing Stations
Germs are the number one reason sickness and illness spreads, which is why your business should do all it can to stop the spread of germs in the office.
The article “Flu Season Is Here: How to Fight Illness at Work” mentions the importance of providing antibacterial soaps and sanitizing wipes around the office.
You can take the germ-fighting efforts a step further by putting sanitization stations around key areas in your office.
Placing hand sanitizers in the conference room, break room, receptionist’s desk, and encouraging your employees to keep personal sanitizers at their desks will help reduce the spread of germs and sickness in your workplace.
Seasonal Awareness
Your employees may not be aware that it is flu and cold season, which is where seasonal awareness comes into play.
Putting reminders around the office about seasonal colds and illnesses will encourage your employees to take preventative measures both in and outside the office.
Speaking of Preventative Measures
Having a healthy immune system is one of the best ways to reduce the chances of catching a cold or contracting an illness. By eating healthy, exercising, and getting plenty of sleep, your employees can boost their immune system and reduce the chances of getting sick.
By reminding your employees to eat foods high in vitamin C and D as well as encouraging them to get out and exercise on their lunch breaks, you can prevent sickness in your workplace throughout the year.
When it comes to the health of your business and its employees, consider some of the workplace wellness pointers mentioned above.
About the Author: Adam Groff is a freelance writer and creator of content. He writes on a variety of topics including health and wellness.
