Managing Flu Outbreaks in the Office

Few things affect a business’s productivity like wellness. While this is a year-round issue, it becomes critical for HR departments during flu season. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get a yearly flu vaccine. There are two key factors to helping employees stay healthy all winter and weather flu season long without succumbing to illness: education and encouragement

Education: It’s important to let people know what they’re up against. Get the word out not only about what the flu is, but how to recognize symptoms, what to do to get better quickly, and how to prevent spreading it to your family and coworkers. Discuss in your next staff meeting, send emails or post flyers. You can create your own materials, or pick and choose from the CDC’s business resources.

Encouragement: Businesses cannot require employees to get flu vaccines, but can promote them while still being respectful of personal choice. How? Consider contacting a local nursing association to provide on-site vaccinations. Even better than making vaccines convenient: offer them free to employees. Or take it a step further and offer an incentive.

Combined with education, encouragement helps ensure that employees stay healthy all winter long. And beyond. Flu season often doesn’t peak until early March and can linger until May, so there’s still plenty of time to benefit from a flu-focused wellness strategy.