Sunday, September 6, 2009

It's hard to think about flu season when it feels like 100 degrees outside.

It seems like when it comes to the pain-in-the-butt stuff in life such as getting something on your car fixed or flu season, none of us really likes thinking about it until we absolutely have to. In fact, I probably wouldn't be writing about this right now if the announcements for flu shots hadn't gone up on the company bulletin board recently.

But with the threat of H1N1 influenza virus hanging over us, it's important to start planning now for what could be the worst flu season in recent memory. The H1N1 virus has caused the first pandemic of the 21st century, according to the World Health Organization.

The government has released guidelines on influenza for businesses both large and small. First and foremost, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says businesses should encourage their employees to get vaccinated for seasonal flu and also H1N1 if and when such a vaccine becomes available later this year.

You may not be able to provide vaccinations at your work place, but employees should be encouraged to seek the vaccines on their own. Allow them to take time off work to do so if necessary.

Second, employers should encourage their employees to stay home when they're sick, especially without fear of losing their jobs. Expect sick employees to be out for about three to five days in most cases, even if they are being treated with antiviral medications.

For some reason many of us think it's necessary to haul our headachy, sniffling selves into work when we're sick. We think the boss will look down on us for taking a day off or, such is the case with me, we think we have way too much work to do to stay home.

Those who do get sick this flu season are going to have to let go of these attitudes. It's going to be crucial that people keep their germs from spreading whenever possible. And that means keeping yourself at home -- away from all your co-workers who do not want to get sick. Do you really want to be the person responsible for infecting the entire office?

There are a number of other guidelines businesses should follow to help reduce transmission among staff, communicate with and educate employees, and minimize the adverse effects on your company. Some of those include:

• Improve office hygiene. Consider providing messages or placing posters in the work place that encourage cough and sneeze etiquette. Provide tissues, soap and water, and alcohol-based hand sanitizers in the work place and ensure that adequate supplies are maintained.

• Frequently clean all commonly touched surfaces in the workplace, such as workstations, countertops and door knobs.

• Do not require a doctor's note for workers who have flulike symptoms, as doctor's offices and medical facilities may be extremely busy and unable to provide such documentation promptly.

• Review or establish a flexible flu pandemic plan and involve your employees in developing and reviewing your plan. Share the final plan with employees and explain what human resources policies, workplace and leave flexibilities, and pay and benefits will be available to them.

• Establish a process to communicate your flu response plan and latest H1N1 information. Anticipate employee fear, anxiety, rumors, and misinformation, and plan communications accordingly.

Consider adding an icon and link to your company Web page or employee Web sites so employees can access the latest information on influenza. Widgets and buttons can be downloaded for free at http://www.cdc.gov/widgets and http://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Campaigns/H1N1/buttons.html

• Be prepared if schools dismiss students or child care programs close. Plan now to determine how you will operate if absenteeism spikes from increases in sick workers, those who stay home to care for ill family members, and those who must stay home to watch their children if dismissed from school. Businesses and other employers should prepare to institute flexible workplace and leave policies for these workers, such as telecommuting.

The CDC provides a more thorough list and a printable checklist for business owners on its Web site at http://www.flu.gov. It identifies important, specific activities businesses can do now to prepare, many of which will also help you in other emergencies.

Anne-Margaret Swary is The Citizen's business editor. Her column runs exclusively every other Sunday. She can be reached at amswary@keysnews.com.