The summer may have just ended, but HR pros should begin prepping for an event that takes place each winter and, more often than not, inflicts a lot of damage on unprepared workplaces.  

Of course, the event we’re referring to is flu season.

To say the flu can wreak havoc on the workplace is a bit of an understatement.

The CDC says almost 111 million workdays are lost because of the flu, and it costs employers around $7 billion in sick days and lost productivity each year.

But well-prepared employers can minimize the impact of the flu and continue with business as usual this flu season.

Best practices

Here are some flu-season tips, courtesy of  TotalWellness Founder and CEO Alan Kohll:

1. Educate staff. Granted, people should know the basics, but reminding employees about how to avoid the flu keeps it fresh in their mind.

The CDC offers best practices, which you can distribute or put upon the intranet:

2. Focus on germ-filled areas. Research shows that the dirtiest places in the office include the breakroom sink’s faucet handles, microwave door handles, keyboards and refrigerator door handles.

So you may want to clean these areas more often than usual during the winter or leave hand sanitizers around these areas.

3. Review PTO/sick time policies. In addition to going over the policies, it’s important to remind workers to stay home when they have even an inkling of flu-like symptoms. Toughing it out could have disastrous consequences for the rest of the office.

In addition, you may want to consider expanding telecommuting options. After all, this will limit the chances of a semi-sick employee spreading something through the entire office.

4. Have a contingency plan in place. It’s critical to be prepared to keep business operations running smoothly in the event key employees are out sick or the office is severly short-staffed.

5. Make it easy for staff to get vaccinated. From hosting an on-site flu-shot clinic to participating in a voucher program that allows staffers to get vaccinated at a local pharmacy, there are plenty of ways to help. Plus, websites like flushot.healthmap.org make it easy for workers to find a nearby flu shot location.

No, you can’t make them get the needle

One practice to avoid this flu season: making flu shots mandatory.

Doing so could run afoul of a number of federal regs (Title VII, ADA) and get you in trouble with agencies like the EEOC.

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