Preparing Your Business for Flu Season During COVID-19

Flu season is just around the corner, and with no end or readily available vaccine in sight to protect against Covid-19, employers are becoming increasingly concerned with the negative effects that these two dangerous viruses present to their employees and productivity. While complete prevention of exposure is not attainable, there are actionable steps that you as an employer can take to help minimize the impact that the flu and Covid-19 can have on your workforce.

In this post, we’ll cover:

  • Reminding employees of sick policies and precautionary measures
  • Steps employees can take to reduce viral exposure for themselves and others
  • Preparing your workspace to mitigate the risk of viral transmission

Revisit Precautionary Measures with Employees

Unfortunately, the viruses that cause the flu and Covid-19 present very similar symptoms in infected individuals. Whether you only experience a cough and sniffles, or you’re laid out on the couch for days, you can’t know whether you’re suffering from the flu or Covid-19 without getting tested. Be sure to remind your employees to engage in proper hygiene practices when at the office, like frequent hand washing and consistently wearing a mask when in public spaces. If possible, encourage your employees to work from home if they are feeling sick in order to prevent a viral spread. Through an all-staff call or email, remind your employees of policies concerning sick time, including taking PTO if they need time to recover. Note that if an employee tests positive for Covid-19 and needs time to recover, they may be eligible for temporary leave under recent federal and state laws.

Employers should also encourage their employees to get the flu shot. Vaccinating against the flu can help curb the spread of influenza, thereby protecting your employees and preventing large drops in overall productivity. If you haven’t already, implement social distancing policies that employees must observe when working in the office. Be sure that your employees know and understand these social distancing policies and be ready to enforce them. Policies can include a mandatory mask-wearing mandate when in the office, maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from others, keeping gatherings to 10 people or less, and scheduling virtual meetings rather than in-person meetings when possible.

Prepare Your Work Space for the Flu and Covid-19

If your employees are still coming together in a coworking space, there are some precautionary measures your organization can take to mitigate employees’ risk of infection. As we mentioned earlier, encouraging your employees to get their flu shot is of vital importance. Consider hosting an on-site vaccination clinic that is covered under your organization’s health insurance plan(s). Accessible, convenient, and free to employees participating in your health insurance plan, an on-site vaccination clinic will incentivize a larger percentage of your workforce to get vaccinated. For those not eligible or covered under an employer-provided health insurance plan, flu shots are often under $40 and can be purchased on-site.

Whether you have a regular cleaning crew or not, creating a policy for cleaning commonly touched surfaces throughout the day can help to reduce risk of viral exposure. The viruses that cause Covid-19 and the flu can remain alive and infectious on surfaces for hours, so it’s important to regularly disinfect and clean commonly touched surfaces throughout the office. Provide disinfectant like disposable wipes or sprays and ask employees to thoroughly disinfect any public surfaces they touched, such as desks, chair arms, keyboards, light switches, refrigerator handles, and doorknobs. Discourage workers from using their colleagues’ phones, desks, or other equipment. Finally, be sure to supply your work space with tissues, hand sanitizer, and even disposable masks in multiple locations to ensure that employees are subverting the potential spread of viral transmission.

Key Takeaways

While the strategies listed above may not be right for every business model, they do present a great starting point as your organization prepares itself against the combined effects of Covid-19 and flu season. While the Covid-19 and influenza viruses have the potential to impact your business this fall and winter, here are the most important preventative measures that you should keep in mind:

  • Remind your employees of the policies set in place to help keep them and their colleagues healthy, like taking PTO and working from home when feeling sick, if possible
  • Encourage your employees to engage in individual safety measures, like getting their flu shot and wearing a mask
  • Implement preventative measures in your workplace to ensure the health and safety of those coming in to work, such as routinely disinfecting shared surfaces and supplying tissues and hand sanitizer throughout the office
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