Small business owners and their employees who work with customers have a high risk of contracting viruses during the fall and winter months. Customers with colds, coughs, fevers and other flu symptoms often are out and about running errands instead of staying home until the contagious period has passed. In addition, many employees come to work when they are feeling ill because they want to save their sick days or because their employers require them to find a replacement if they call in sick.
Unfortunately, one sick person who visits a business or comes to work when he or she should stay home often ends up making everyone he or she comes in contact with ill, as well. So, is it possible to prevent swine flu? While it may not be possible to completely eradicate the spread of germs, there are some things that small business owners and their employees can do to help prevent the H1N1 flu virus.
Swine Flu Prevention Tips for Employees
It may be tempting to require employees to be at the checkout counter even if they are ill, but small business owners should require sick employees to stay home for several reasons. People who are already sick are more susceptible to more serious illnesses than healthy employees. Also, while the first few days of a flu-like illness may not involve anything worse than a cold, the symptoms may actually be the start of a more serious illness. An employee who does have the flu and comes to work anyway could cause the entire staff to become ill.
For employees who aren't sick, prevention tips include:
- Getting both the traditional flu shot and the H1N1 flu vaccine. According to the CDC, getting only the traditional flu vaccine does not protect a person against the swine flu.
- Washing hands frequently. Handling money and merchandise directly after customers who may be ill handle them means that frequent hand washing is essential.
- Cleaning the store or office regularly with antiseptic cleaners. Pay special attention to items shared by several staff members and things that are handled by the public. For example, employees who share a phone may want to keep Clorox wipes beside the phone so they can quickly wipe it down before each use. They may also want to wipe down the front door handles on an hourly basis if there are a lot of customers coming in and out.
- Coughing or sneezing into an elbow instead of covering their mouths. This helps them avoid passing germs on to customers as they return change or credit cards.
- Talking to doctors about current recommendations for staying healthy, such as getting plenty of rest or staying hydrated.
H1N1 Prevention Tips for Small Business Owners
To make sure employees reduce the likelihood of spreading swine flu, small business owners may want to:
- Offer to reimburse employees for flu shot costs.
- Post information about reducing the chance of spreading the H1N1 virus for employees to read.
- Place containers of antiseptic wipes and trash cans lined with trash bags prominently throughout the building along with a sign encouraging people to use them on cart handles, door handles and other surfaces before touching them.
- Encourage sick employees to stay home.
While there is no way to guarantee that employees will stay healthy, there are things business owners, employees and customers can do to reduce the risk of passing swine flu from person to person.
 |
