It’s a nasty business to go to an office loaded with viruses. It can affect productivity levels and overall well-being of your employees. Fortunately, there are ways to go about this. You can find a way to make your office less welcoming to viruses if you try these six tips in your office building:
1. Schedule occasional deep cleaning to your office
A small preventive measure can go a long way. Schedule industrial floor scrubbers and professional window cleaners here and there. Try to have this done at least once a month or once every quarter. Deep cleaning services are relatively more expensive than regular sweeping of floors and cleaning of air conditioning units. But these services make for a healthier atmosphere inside the office.
2. Sterilise the air
Diffusers or air sterilisers can be a bit on the pricier side of office equipment. However, they can help purify the air in your office and lessen the risk of allergic reactions and airborne viruses from being contagious. Have these sterilising units switched on in places where many people usually gather. This way, you can help clean the air regularly.
3. Wash your hands as often as possible
Encourage yourself and your colleagues to do this. Make sure that you wash your hands before eating and in between work tasks. This will kill germs quickly and make you a less likely carrier of something that can wreak havoc on your coworkers’ health.
4. Recommend and promote vaccines
Look for vaccinations and shots that you can promote to your office clinic. Encourage your colleagues to take care of themselves and take flu shots, especially during the height of flu season.
5. Discourage sick employees from coming to the office
For sure, there are heroic or overzealous employees who love their jobs too much and cannot afford to leave their work station even if they are carriers of a virus. Make sure that you send them home. Don’t allow them to come to work for everyone’s safety and root more for their full recovery. It is better to tell them to stay home until they have no more traces of the virus than force them to report to work and put everyone else’s health in danger.
6. Promote healthy eating and lifestyle choices
Have HR programs for wellness that promote exercise, healthy eating choices from the company cafeteria, and other administrative practices that allow for the overall well-being of the employees. Spark a discussion on this with employee feedback forms or bring this up to management. Have at least one manager on board with these proposals so that it can happen.
Even if you do these things, it does not necessarily or 100% guarantee that your office will be permanently free of viruses. These things can still happen, and the tricks are meant to help you reduce your risk factors. The bigger upside of this is that you are proactive about your stance on promoting better health for you and your colleagues in the office.
