by Shane Henson — November 16, 2012—Flu season is known to be a bane to U.S. businesses, resulting in millions of missed work days and a tremendous loss of productivity. While facilities managers cannot monitor employees’ health habits, there is still much they can do to make office environments healthier, beginning by educating employees about influenza and ways they can protect themselves and others from the virus.
An online survey conducted by office supply giant Staples found that office workers continue to make avoidable mistakes that fuel the spread of germs. According to survey results:
- Approximately 51 percent of employees only clean their desks once a week or less, even though germs can live on surfaces for up to three days, especially on the keyboard—typically one of the dirtiest personal workspace items.
- Approximately 25 percent believe that door knobs/handles are the dirtiest places in the office, while only six percent recognize that the break room sink is actually the dirtiest, followed by the office microwave, which only eight percent selected.
- Approximately 65 percent feel the number of days necessary to be out of the office with the flu is one to three days. However, the flu virus may be contagious for one day before symptoms develop and up to five to seven days after becoming sick.
Survey findings also revealed that nearly half of workers cited their concern about completing work as the reason they do not stay home sick. More than a quarter of respondents come to work to avoid using a sick day, even though a majority of those surveyed indicated their average productivity level while sick was only around 50 percent, says Staples.
In response to the survey’s findings, Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples Inc., has recommended easy steps that business owners or facilities managers can follow to help maintain a healthier work environment:
- Offer/encourage a telecommuting program: Employers may want to consider implementing a telecommuting program—or encourage use of an existing program—as a way to help address employees coming into the office when sick. Of those respondents whose company offers a telecommuting option, nearly half take advantage of the option when sick to avoid spreading germs in the office, notes Staples Advantage.
- Stock up: Nearly half of office workers surveyed request specific items be provided by employers, such as sanitizing wipes, touch-free restroom fixtures, waterless hand sanitizers and antibacterial soap in restrooms and break rooms. Survey results show break rooms need special attention, as most workers are not aware of the hidden germs lurking there.
- Educate: Staff should be educated about how often to clean their desks, how long they should stay home when sick, and crucial areas in the office that need to be frequently disinfected, to help prevent the spread of flu and other illnesses.
Product information, whitepapers, case studies, videos, Webinars and other tools to help facilities managers fend off the damage of flu season can be found on the Staples Advantage Facility Solutions Web site.
