How to keep your team healthy and productive during flu season.
Flu season is here, and workplaces and businesses should have an environmental cleaning program to ensure their teams can continue coming to work. In 2019, absenteeism cost the Australian economy an estimated $35 billion in wages and lost productivity, with $90.4 million attributed to the virus spreading between workers.
Research indicates that influenza activity in 2023 peaked in June and July, similar to the 2022 and 2019 seasons, much earlier than the 2016-2018 seasons, which peaked in August and September. As it's now June 2024, we are still unsure when the flu season will peak, as studies suggest that the flu season in the last few years has been longer.
During winter, people spend more time indoors, in closer contact with others, which increases the risk of spreading germs. Additionally, the influenza virus remains airborne longer in cold, less humid air.
As your indoor environmental manager, we provide office cleaning and hygiene services and have identified two strategies to prevent the spread of viruses and boost your team's immune system, allowing them to feel safe at work and stay productive.
Here's a simple guide on how to keep your staff healthy and productive, giving your business a competitive advantage. Communication with your team and making necessary tools available to them is the key to all of our operations.
Good hygiene:
Germs left on a surface from an infected person's hand can be spread to others who touch the same surface. These people become infected when they touch their mouth, nose, eyes or food without washing their hands. Keeping high-touch surfaces clean is essential for maintaining a healthy environment.
Hand sanitiser:
Provide alcohol-based hand sanitiser containing 80% ethanol or 75% isopropanol as active ingredients.
Regularly disinfect highly touched areas
Make a list of all high-traffic areas. Certified cleaning products should be used to clean hard surfaces. These products should have Eco-labels that restrict highly hazardous substances, such as GECA, Global GreenTag, or Green Seal (USA). Using these products will stop the spread of viruses and improve indoor air quality.
Hand washing:
Supply hand hygiene resources to enable your team to effectively wash and sanitize their hands. Display posters in the bathrooms and kitchens.
Boosting your team's immune system:
Choose foods and supplements to boost your team's immune system. Five micronutrients - vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc - play roles in maintaining immune function and are found in specific supplements.
Provide fruits with micronutrients:
Citrus fruits such as mandarins and oranges for Vitamin C, sunflower seeds and almonds for Vitamin E, and bananas for vitamin B6 will help to boost their immune systems and show your team that you care about their well-being.
Vitamin C effervescent tablets:
Consider providing these tablets for your staff in the kitchen or at a specific station for their use.
Implementing these strategies may be time-consuming, but with some effort, they can be achieved. Workplace well-being and productivity cannot be achieved through good intentions alone, so it's crucial to ask your commercial cleaning suppliers for help in implementing these strategies. Here at EC.Workplaces, we are managers of the indoor built environment and understand the science of creating a healthy and productive workplace. If you need help with these strategies, please contact us, and we can provide you with more free resources to elevate your business.
