The Benefits of a Flu Prevention Strategy

     Well, it's that time of year again. That's right, it's fall already. And while many of us may look forward to the changing colors of the leaves, many employers often overlook the importance of planning for the upcoming flu season and the effective strategies that are available to help protect their businesses from the devastating affects of influenza.

     According to a Walgreens study from September 2015, influenza was responsible for over 100 million lost workdays during the 2014 - 2015 flu season. In fact, many sources list influenza as a leading cause of employee absence. Some estimates say that 10 - 12% of all employee absences are due to employees contracting the flu virus and each affected employee might miss up to six days of work and need up to two weeks to make a full recovery. That's over $7 billion in lost wages; two-thirds of the missed workdays were employer-paid sick leave, while the flu sliced more than $10.4 billion of company productivity.

     Also, imagine the increased potential for workplace accidents as workers attempt to work while self-medicating themselves for symptoms of the flu. Taking medications that may cause drowsiness, delayed reaction times, or just simply poor decision-making. Any such serious accident or injury could damage a company's reputation and could also cause insurance premiums to soar.

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     Studies have documented that work practices in general are conducive to influenza's spread. Once the flu begins sweeping through a workplace, controlling it becomes very difficult. Developing an effective flu prevention strategy could potentially help soften the blow of this year's flu season. 

     Below are some tips that are recommended by the CDC, or the Centers for Disease Control, for implementing a Workplace Flu Vaccination Clinic. These are:
Planning

1. Get senior management buy-in to support a flu vaccination clinic at the workplace
2. Frame getting employees vaccinated against flu as a business priority and create a goal aligned with this effort
3. Identify a flu vaccination coordinator and/or team with defined roles and responsibilities
4. Schedule the flu vaccination clinic to maximize employee participation
5. Gauge need and demand among employees for flu vaccination. Provide sufficient and accessible flu vaccination in as many business locations as possible
6.  Ask managers and supervisors to allow employees to attend an onsite flu vaccination clinic as part of their workday without having to go "off-the-clock"
7. Consider offering flu vaccination to employee's families
8. Set a goal and help show employees how their participation matters

Hosting & Promoting

1. Use incentives for flu vaccination to increase participation (offering vaccine at no or low cost, providing refreshments at the clinic, or holding a contest for department with highest vaccination rate, etc.)
2. Promote the vaccination clinic with: ​

• ​Posters about the importance of flu vaccination
• An article in company communications
• Promotional posters/flyers to advertise the date and time
• Communication from business leadership directly to employees promoting vaccination
• Use social media channels for promotion​ ​

Logistics

1. Provide a comfortable and convenient location
2. Set an example by encouraging managers and business leaders to get vaccinated first ​​​

Current Flu Activity 10/14/2017

     If your company will not vaccinate its employees, there are still other ways to help prevent flu from spreading in your workplace . These include:

1. Encouraging employees to get vaccinated on their own
2. Encouraging good cough/sneeze etiquette
3. Providing hand-wash stations and encouraging frequent washing with soap
4. Providing an alcohol-based hand sanitizer for worker use and encourage its use
5. ​Encouraging workers to not come to work if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms

​     Usually, the effectiveness of a Flu-Prevention Campaign correlates directly with the time and effort put into it. Determining a return on investment (ROI) helps create a sound business case for a Worksite Flu Prevention Program. Some objectives to measure include: rates of absenteeism, reduced productivity, direct health savings and employee engagement. Protecting the health and safety of employees, as well as safeguarding the company's bottom line, offer ample reason to invest in a worksite program.

For more information on preventing the flu in your workplace, please visit: 
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/resource-center/freeresources/print/print-businesses.htm

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