Most businesses see an increase in employee absences during the winter months. When employees call off, the entire office is less productive. Prevent absences before they happen with these 4 tips for keeping your employees healthy during the winter months.
1. Hand Sanitizer
Proper disinfection can reduce employee sick days significantly. Provide employees with hand sanitizer to tackle germs immediately.
First, place hand sanitizer in all bathrooms. Employees should use the hand sanitizer before touching the bathroom door handle. It’s also a good idea to place hand sanitizer in other communal areas, such as the break room and the printer room. Remind employees to sanitize before using communal products.
You can also gift your employees individual hand sanitizer bottles to carry with them in and out of the office for when they’re at home or traveling around..
2. Commercial Janitorial Services
Enlist the help of commercial janitorial services to clean your office regularly. You can determine whether you need cleaning services every day or once a week. Consider increasing frequency during the winter months. Emphasize the importance of sanitation as part of the services.
Some messes demand attention before the janitor service can arrive. Remind employees that they should clean up after themselves, even if you have a cleaning company.
3. Clean the Fridge Regularly
If someone leaves food in the fridge, other employees will eventually start to complain about the smell. The smell comes from mold or other organic growth coming from the rotten food. Oftimes mold can make you sick if you’re exposed to it for too long, so make sure you take care of food before it becomes a problem.
Encourage employees to take leftovers home with them every day so that they don’t forget something. You can also clear out the fridge regularly, perhaps every Friday before the weekend.
4. Allow Employees to Work From Home When Feeling Ill
Employees may come into the office and contaminate others for fear of getting in trouble for staying home. Even though in-person attendance can be helpful, you will benefit from creating a flexible system that allows employees a certain amount of at-home days along with sick days. On these days, the employee is expected to answer communications and produce the same volume of work they did at the office. Letting one person work from home for one day can prevent three people from calling off the next day.
You can take action to reduce absences at the office. Start here and help your employees stay healthy for the season.
Meghan Belnap is a freelance writer who enjoys spending time with her family. She loves being in the outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise. Meghan finds happiness in researching new topics that help to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure. You can connect with her on Facebook right here and Twitter right here.
