When the warmth and comfort of summer begins to bleed into the color and chill of fall, only one thing can be certain: Cold and flu season is on its way. It’s a staple that has become almost as certain as death and taxes. Each fall, children and parents alike all succumb to the seasonal sicknesses that colder weather can bring.
With the threat of the H1N1 virus looming, extra precautions have been taken in order to ensure the threat of sickness can be limited. Those precautions have extended to the workplace, a realm that is certainly no stranger to confronting illnesses each year colder weather pops its ugly head in the door.
"So far, we’ve had widespread activities in 46 of the 50 states," Llelwyn Grant, a spokesperson for the Center of Disease Control said when asked about the affect the addition of the H1N1 virus has had on the sickness season. "We are seeing a lot more activity this year than last."
THE LUCKY ONES
While many workplaces have been crippled by the particularly harsh flu season this year, Holly Richardson, founder of Amerivet Sales & Logistics L3C in Derby, Vermont, is behind a business that has managed to fight off any consequences widespread illnesses can bring.
"We are a fairly new business, but it’s safe to say that we haven’t been affected so far this year," Richardson said, adding that her company, which provides business development and health care administration consulting, is a mere six months old. "Or maybe, I should say ‘not yet, thankfully.’"
Richardson, who was in the military for 10 years, stressed that her business took various steps to ensure each co-worker of a healthy flu season before the colder months crept in.
"We make sure to tell our employees to use a lot of disinfectant when they wash their hands," she said. "We’ve tried to do as much as we can to help."
Richardson isn’t the only business owner that has managed to dodge the illness bug. James Poole, a patent attorney who works out of his home office in Fort Collins, Colorado, acknowledged that while he has been lucky enough to escape the affects of illness so far this year, it hasn’t been by accident, considering the precautions he has taken in advance.
"I’ve worked for three corporations and law firms (in the past)," he said. "Since I'm basically on my own, with some help from my wife, we try to stay healthy and get all appropriate inoculations. I also keep in touch with lawyers and other practitioners to whom I could refer work which I couldn't undertake or finish due to illness."
Poole added that should he come down with any particular severe illness, the repercussions would be nothing short of extraordinary on both him and his family.
"In my field, where lawyers have technical specialties and work on individual projects such as patent applications, studies and opinions, getting someone to fill in would require their investing lots of time and effort, which might not be billable to clients," he said. "Patent and trademark prosecution, as well as litigation, involves lots of deadlines, and extensions of time may be expensive or unavailable. I’m not involved in large organizations now, but serious illness could shut me down for a long time."
KNOW YOUR LIMITS
According to Grant and the CDC, the best possible thing an employer could do to combat sickness throughout the workplace is make sure all precautionary actions are taken before the sickness occurs. Avoiding close contact with individuals who may be infected with any type of illness is only one of many steps employers can take when preparing employees for the perpetual sickness storm that may lie ahead.
"We encourage time off of work," Grant said. "Employers need to have a flexible leave policy because even if you aren’t sick yourself, you may need to support your family members. If you are sick, don’t go to work. All employers should encourage their employees to stay home if they are sick."
Grant stressed that common knowledge should play a role in combating the spread of illness as well. The worst thing individuals can do, he said, is not be responsible during this time of year.
"Remember to cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands with soap and water and not go to work if you are sick," he said. "All these things are common sense."
That said, Grant added that the best option is another simple, yet effective precaution that he acknowledged may sometimes go overlooked.
"All employers should get vaccinated," he said. "We stress that anyone who can get the seasonal vaccine do it. That really is the best line of defense."
Symptoms of the flu (taken from www.flu.gov ):
- Fever
- Cough
- Sore Throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Headaches and/or body aches
- Chills
- Fatigue
Symptoms of H1N1 (taken from www.flu.gov):
- Fever
- Cough
- Sore Throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Headaches and/or body aches
- Chills
- Fatigue
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
If you have been diagnosed with H1N1 flu, you should stay home, follow your doctor’s orders, and watch for signs that you need immediate medical attention.
•CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever (100°F or 37.8°C) is gone except to get medical care or for other things you have to do and no one else can do for you. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine, such as Tylenol®.) You should stay home from work, school, travel, shopping, social events, and public gatherings.
•Avoid close contact with others, especially those who might easily get the flu, such as people age 65 years and older, people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), pregnant women, young children, and infants.
•Clean hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub often, especially after using tissues or coughing/sneezing into your hands.
•Cover coughs and sneezes.
•Wear a facemask when sharing common spaces with other household members to help prevent spreading the virus to others. This is especially important if other household members are at high risk for complications from influenza. See Interim Recommendations for Facemask and Respirator Use to Reduce Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Transmission.
•Drink clear fluids such as water, broth, sports drinks, or electrolyte beverages made for infants to prevent becoming dehydrated.
•Get plenty of rest.
•Get medical attention right away if you:
◊Have difficulty breathing or chest pain
◊Have purple or blue discoloration of your lips
◊Are vomiting and unable to keep liquids down, or
◊Show signs of dehydration, such as feeling dizzy when standing or being unable to urinate
For more, visit www.flu.gov.
Keeping Healthy: 10 Tips for Businesses
(from http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/business/guidance/smallbiz.htm)
Employees are a crucial resource at any business, and especially small businesses. There are steps you can take now, and during the flu season, to help protect the health of your employees.
1. Develop policies that encourage ill workers to stay at home without fear of any reprisals.
2. Develop other flexible policies to allow workers to telework (if feasible) and create other leave policies to allow workers to stay home to care for sick family members or care for children if schools close.
3. Provide resources and a work environment that promotes personal hygiene. For example, provide tissues, no-touch trash cans, hand soap, hand sanitizer, disinfectants and disposable towels for workers to clean their work surfaces.
4. Provide education and training materials in an easy to understand format and in the appropriate language and literacy level for all employees. See www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/business.
5. Instruct employees who are well but who have an ill family member at home with the flu that they can go to work as usual. These employees should monitor their health every day, and notify their supervisor and stay home if they become ill. Employees who have a certain underlying medical condition or who are pregnant should promptly call their health care provider for advice if they become ill.
6. Encourage workers to obtain a seasonal influenza vaccine, if it is appropriate for them according to CDC recommendations (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm). This helps to prevent illness from seasonal influenza strains that may circulate at the same time as the 2009 H1N1 flu.
7. Encourage employees to get the 2009 H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available if they are in a priority group according to CDC recommendations. For information on groups recommended for seasonal and H1N1 vaccines, please see www.flu.gov. Consider granting employees time off from work to get vaccinated when the vaccine is available in your community.
8. Provide workers with up-to-date information on influenza risk factors, protective behaviors, and instruction on proper behaviors (for example, cough etiquette; avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth; and hand hygiene).
9. Plan to implement practices to minimize face-to-face contact between workers if advised by the local health department. Consider the use of such strategies as extended use of e-mail, websites and teleconferences, encouraging flexible work arrangements (for example, telecommuting or flexible work hours) to reduce the number of workers who must be at the work site at the same time or in one specific location.
10. If an employee does become sick while at work, place the employee in a separate room or area until they can go home, away from other workers. If the employee needs to go into a common area prior to leaving, he or she should cover coughs/sneezes with a tissue or wear a facemask if available and tolerable. Ask the employee to go home as soon as possible.