by Brianna Crandall — October 23, 2013—Nearly 90% of office workers come to work even when they know they are sick, according to the fourth annual Flu Season Survey from Staples, a leading provider of supplies that help keep offices healthy. The findings show a growing trend when compared to last year’s findings, which indicated 80% of workers come to work sick, and are up from 60% in the 2011 Staples survey.
The online survey, conducted in August 2013, asked a series of questions about hygiene in the workplace and flu knowledge.
Besides 316 office workers at organizations of all sizes across the United States, Staples surveyed 132 facilities managers separately to get their perspective on handling flu season, and the report includes measures for FMs to take in order to help keep workplace hygiene and productivity optimal.
According to the survey, workers acknowledged that staying out three days when sick with the flu was appropriate. The majority of workers, however, stay out of the office for less than two days when sick, putting coworkers’ health and business productivity at risk, notes Staples. The primary reason most respondents cited for returning to work early was not wanting to fall behind on their workload (45%).
The survey does demonstrate that workers have a better understanding of flu prevention:
- 49% of respondents understand they are contagious with the flu virus for one day before symptoms develop and up to five to seven days after becoming sick, an improvement from 38% last year.
- 76% of workers correctly identified the break room as the least clean spot in the office, a sharp increase from 26% last year.
- 57% know that flu viruses can live on a hard surface up to three days, a slight increase from last year; however, 66% of employees still only clean their desks once a week or less, up from 51% last year.
“Flu season poses a big problem for businesses— each year it causes an estimated 70 million missed workdays and billions in lost office productivity. It’s critical that both employees and employers take notice and promote healthier habits,” said Lisa Hamblet, vice president for facility solutions at Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples. “That can mean arming a workforce with simple products like hand sanitizer to large-scale industrial cleaning products and techniques. Diligence early in the flu season ensures health and productivity throughout the season.”
Facility Managers and Business Service Contractors First Line of Defense
Of the facilities managers surveyed, only 7% identified the break room as the germiest place in the office, demonstrating that even an organization’s FM doesn’t always have the correct information. Staples separately surveyed this group to determine challenges faced during flu season, and to provide a platform to inform FMs on preventative measures specific to their responsibilities.
Similar to last year, the report indicated uncertainty over the role an FM plays in flu prevention in the workplace:
- 43% of FMs believe they are responsible for the health of building occupants during flu season, while 40% say it is up to the workers themselves.
- Not even 50% of FMs indicated that they ordered critical supplies to help prevent the spread of germs in the office, such as cleaning and disinfecting chemicals.
When asked what would be most helpful for employees to keep in mind to help prevent germs, FMs identified a wide range of preventative measures, from washing hands and not eating at desks, to covering noses/mouths when sneezing and cleaning desks using sanitizing products.
Staples recommends these easy steps to help maintain a healthier work environment:
- Provide appropriate supplies: Employers can help their employees stay healthy throughout flu season by providing the necessary materials. The top three products respondents indicated they would like their employers to provide are hand sanitizer in common areas (47%), hand sanitizing wipes on every desk (42%) and touch-free restroom features (39%).
- Offer/encourage a telecommuting program: 21% of respondents said they come into work sick because they do not think they could do their work from home. One way to help address employees coming into the office when sick would be to consider implementing a telecommuting program — or encourage the use of an existing program. Of the respondents whose company offers a telecommuting option, more than 50% felt inclined to telecommute to avoid sickness during flu season.
- Log off: While employees admit to coming to work when sick because they do not want to fall behind on their work, survey results show that productivity drops to under 60% of norm when sick. In order to maintain a productive workplace, employers should encourage their employees to take the necessary time to recover when they contract the flu, to protect not only themselves but other workers.
Staples Advantage, Staples.com and Staples stores offer products and tips to keep businesses of all sizes running smoothly during flu season. Visit the Staples flu prevention Web page to view product information, whitepapers, case studies, videos, Webinars and other tools to help fend off the damage of flu season.
Staples bills itself as the world’s largest office products company and second largest Internet retailer. The company provides products, services and expertise in office supplies, copy and print, technology, facilities and breakroom, and furniture, reportedly inventing the office superstore concept in 1986. Headquartered outside Boston, Staples operates in 26 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia, with 88,000 associates worldwide.
Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples, serves organizations of 20 or more employees up to the Fortune 1000, including global businesses, local, state and federal government, healthcare organizations and educational institutions. The Staples Advantage one-source solution includes comprehensive products and services from office supplies, technology and printing to promotional products, furniture and facility solutions to provide organizations with greater cost savings and improved ordering efficiencies.
