In a state of swine-flu "freakout" at work?

(image via PassiveAggressiveNotes.com)

Fall has arrived and flu season is just a few steps behind it, although this season is already proving to be anything but typical. Fear of catching the swine flu has played well above the usual fanfare that comes with any “normal” flu season.

People are worried, but not without just cause. Some public health officials are describing the first wave of the swine flu pandemic, which hit the U.S. in May and June, as just a “foretaste” of the upcoming fall flu season.

According to the official tally kept by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been more than a million H1N1 cases in the U.S. alone.

Just like any normal flu season, high-density locations such as offices, schools and airplanes are considered higher-risk areas for spreading the flu. The risk of catching the flu at work is nothing new, but the risk of the swine flu hitting your workplace has many workers stuck in absolute “freakout” mode.

Of course, you want to limit the risk to your staff and customers, but creating a state of panic will sabotage your protective efforts.

Preventing a complete swine-flu “freakout” at your company doesn’t take a team of doctors and nurses, just some old-fashioned common sense. At the very least:

• Distribute information on how to protect yourself from the flu.
• Post flu-related information, including posters and signs, in high-traffic areas.
• Supply employees with alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
• Ask employees to stay home from work if they’re feeling ill to limit contact with others.

Another option - Tell them how CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta caught the H1N1 virus while reporting from Afghanistan. Read his first-hand account, "I went to Afghanistan and all I got was H1N1," and follow his lead - get medical care, get lots of rest and stay home for a few days.

As the swine flu continues to make headlines in our newspapers and nightly news shows, it’s no wonder why people are worried at work. Help employees stay safe without creating a state of swine-flu panic.

Read G.Neil’s white paper “Protecting Your Employees and Business from the Spread of Flu” (.pdf) for more information.

And “Flu prevention training: It’s a pandemic out there!” from the Training Time Learning Library.

When the flu and bad manners collide at work

From politicians interrupting Presidential speeches to tennis stars berating line judges and rap music moguls stealing an award winning teen’s limelight, recent news headlines have us gasping in disbelief and collectively wondering – “What would your mother say?”

Whether you’re a tennis champion or a grocery store bagger, people are taking notice of the disease-like spread of poor etiquette. Over at his Avian Flu Diary blog, writer FLA_Medic shared a recent experience at his local supermarket:

While paying for my goods, the cashier began counting out money. She then COUGHED into her free hand - and barely skipping a beat -continued counting out my change . . .

. . . I started to say something but was interrupted as this lady SNEEZED (loudly and wetly) into her free hand, wiped her hand on her pants leg, and then blithely resumed counting my change.

He pointed out the cashier’s poor (and germy) etiquette, she denied any wrongdoing, wiped her hands with a hand wipe then gave the shopper his change using “fresh” bills from the register.

I walked around the store for several minutes, fuming . . . and finally asked another cashier to page the manager. He arrived a few minutes later, and I explained what had transpired (I did not identify the cashier . . .this, I felt was a failure of Management).

I asked, “Have you had any employee training sessions on sneezing and coughing etiquette? After all . . we are in a pandemic.”

So, though it may be the simplest and one of our earliest learned lessons in etiquette (next to saying “please” and “thank you,” of course) some people need a refresher lesson on the importance of covering their mouth and nose while sneezing and coughing – the right way.

Now is the time to get your flu season training in motion, especially with some experts predicting flu season to hit its peak in October, before the release of the H1N1 vaccine.

Educate employees on how to protect themselves from the flu with posters, pamphlets and online newsletters – anything that could help prevent the spread of illness in your workplace.

Remember, the rules have changed since the School House Rock generation was in class (oh, you know who you are) – we use our elbows to cover sneezes, no more of that icky hand nonsense.

Preventing swine flu at work: Prepare now

Thanks to the H1N1 flu virus, familiarly known as the swine flu, the upcoming fall flu season will be unlike anything the U.S. has experienced in recent history, and government officials are urging businesses to prepare for a possible widespread outbreak.

With the pandemic estimated to reach up to 2 billion people, three Cabinet secretaries met last month to announce new guidelines to help businesses plan for and respond to the upcoming flu season.

“One of the most important things that employers can do is to make sure their human resources and leave policies are flexible and follow public health guidance,’’ said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “If employees are sick, they need to be encouraged to stay home. If people begin to experience flu-like symptoms at work, they should be sent home and possibly encouraged to seek medical treatment.’’

Employers’ flu season plans should address key preventative measures including:

• encouraging employees with flu-like symptoms to stay home from work,
• operating with less in-house staff, and
• having employees at higher risk for illness or serious medical complications from infection work from home.

Before the season gets into full swing, employers should take a look at the company’s sick leave policies and ensure employees understand them, according to the CDC. Employers may also want to consider adopting flexible hours for employees who need to care for sick family members or if a child’s school is closed.

Other suggestions include offering on-site flu vaccines, encouraging employees to get the H1N1 flu vaccine, limiting face-to-face meetings and business travel, and allowing employees to work from home.

“Keeping our nation’s workers safe is a top priority,” said Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth Harris, who participated in the announcement. “Faced with a renewed H1N1 challenge during the coming flu season, we are developing tools that will help ensure America’s workers stay healthy and our businesses remain viable.”

Every company will have a unique plan that fits their business needs, but the main goal should be protecting workers. Help prevent the spread of flu at your company by training workers how to keep themselves and their families safe.

Related posts:

Training is key to preventing the flu at work

Preventing the flu in the office, six simple steps

Keep your germs at home!

Carnival of HR comes to town

Corn dogs, funnel cake, cotton candy … Oh My!

The Carnival of HR has made it’s way to Training Time. We got our hands on some fantastic submissions this week and would like to say thanks to everyone who contributed.

Just one thing before you enter – please ride the Screamin’ Swing before you visit the funnel cake vendor. Thanks.

Looking for a new job? Want a new position at the Tilt-A-Whirl instead of the Gravitron?

Laurie at Punk Rock HR reminds us that “we are who we pretend to be – even on our resumes,” so be careful.

For all those “Moms” out there, Kelly at Fistful of Talent has some recommendations on how to find a job that meshes well with your family life.

Don’t underestimate your social media connections, says Lance aka. Your HR Guy. Value your connections, learn new things and apply those new things to make personal improvements.

Listen to Michael VanDervort’s advice at Human Race Horses on how to interview like your in show business and you may have a shot at the carnival’s main stage next year.

Amit Bhagria the Young HR Manager has some tips for coping with a corporate layoff.

And The HR Store is asking recent interviewees, “What are you doing about the interview feedback you receive?”


One carnie short of the perfect carnival? Looking to fill a position?

Visit Recruitment 2.0 and read Susannah Cesar’s three part series on recruiting graduates in a recession.

If you’re looking to save money, you can always skip the carnival games, or listen to Melanie Quinn’s advice on how retaining human capital makes sense and saves cents.

We learn by doing, but taking the “sink or swim” approach to promoting an employee to management can be dangerous. Instead, use some management transition tools suggested by David Giffin from i4cp.

When the time comes to choose new leaders, why not take a look at some other tried and true methods, asks Wally Bock at Three Star Leadership.

When you’re ready to formulate a leadership development program, head on over to Benifys HR Solutions where Vishveshwar Jatain will get you started.


Someone call security, we’ve got problems

Broken Ferris wheel again? It’s safe to say a bit of human error was probably involved. Sharlyn Lauby aka. the HR Bartender examines why some people get desperate when faced with failure.

Lacking feedback from your manager? Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership shares his advice on coaxing feedback out of a reluctant manager.

Or maybe it’s an accountability problem. Denise O’Berry at Ask the Team Doc says assigning people specific roles is worth it and will help your team.

Spend ten minutes with Naomi Bloom, in a post by Melissa Prusher of The Devon Group, and learn from her successful project management tips.

Bad employees are very similar to smelly diapers, just read Suzanne the Evil HR Lady would handle Mr. Stinky. If you can’t change it, get rid of it, she says.

From smells to bad attitudes, Susan Heathfield from Guide to Human Resources hears countless horror stories of the way employees were treated by their HR staff person.

Wondering why everyone is walking around with masks? The swine flu has hit the carnival, and India. Read B.P. Rao ‘s common sense advice on minimizing your flu risk.

While we’re on the subject of health... Evan Falchuk of See First Blog explains why he thinks health care reform is going badly.

Don’t be afraid to put your foot down and take a stand when problems arise, says Ben Eubanks of Upstart HR in his rules for new HR professionals.

Maybe it’s time to revamp your required carnie training courses. Use these tips from yours truly at Thoughts from Training Time to reinvigorate your training programs.


The carnival is getting high tech these days

In order for collaborative communities to thrive in the workplace, you’re going to need three necessary conditions, says Steve Boese of Steve's HR Technology Blog.

Gireesh Sharma of Talent Junction explains the importance of HR data for a CEO, especially when you’re an entrepreneur pitching to investors.

Sakib Khan, of HR with Sakib Khan, explains how Google Wave can improve collaboration and HR.

And take a deeper look at the power of sticks and carrots at Prasad Kurian’s Blog on HR.

Integrating your networking and collaboration tools with enterprise systems might improve your chances of influencing behaviors that improve performance, says Mark Bennett of Talented Apps.

Also think about how a rollout plan could ease the integration of a new analytics initiative into your HR and business culture at Infohrm.


Of course, you gotta have some fun at the carnival

Invite your team to a “Night Out in August,” says April Downing of Pseudo HR. Set the budget, pick a restaurant, and set aside some time for your team to discuss what’s going on at work.

Or use Drew Tarvin’s tips from Humor That Works on how to build a better global team.

Sometimes you just have to accept that work is largely out of your control. So, find one thing that revives your sense of freedom this summer, says Mark Stelzner of Inflexion Advisors.

Ditch the high five. Do The Xena.

When it comes to preventing flu in the workplace, you want to do everything you possibly can. But can you ever be too cautious?

Over the past few weeks, the fear of spreading the swine flu had people stocking up on hand sanitizers and face masks, led some colleges to take hand shaking out of graduation ceremonies or canceled them all together, and shut down dozens of grade schools full of healthy kids.

Swine-flu fears seem to be simmering down, especially after health officials announced that the current strain is no more dangerous than the run-of-the-mill flu that makes its way through our workplaces and schools each year.

So, isn’t it about time to take a deep (maskless) breath and have a good laugh about all of it?

Even some of the leading news providers, including National Public Radio (NPR), think it’s about that time.

Recently NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey and All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen illustrated the most popular workplace greetings that will keep you social and safe during a contagious illness outbreak.

Your options include:

• The Xena - An alternative to the fist bump where you use your forearm instead. “Be like Xena, Warrior Princess.”


• Bow Nouveau - The “tete-a-tete,” forehead-to-forehead greeting, should be replaced with a Renaissance-style bow or curtsy.


• The Wave - Maintain a 3 to 6 food CDC-recommended distance and choose to wave instead of shaking hands during flu season.


• Smackdown - Because there’s never been a documented case of passing the flu from foot to foot, try a variation of the foot smack rather than kissing someone on the cheek.


• Self Hug - “Hugging yourself might seem odd at first, but surely it can catch on... maybe.”


• And our favorite ... the Snap and Flick - Because high-fiving can be just as bad as kissing when it comes to passing on the flu virus, try this alternative:

View all of NPR's new workplace greetings.

Training is key to preventing the flu at work

As of this morning, there have been 64 confirmed cases of swine flu in the U.S., including 45 in New York City, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In response to the intensifying outbreak, President Barack Obama said that swine flu is a cause for concern, but not a cause for alarm. Because government officials don’t yet know how widespread the flu may be in the U.S., they are focused on aggressive planning and precautions.

The CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have developed a planning checklist for businesses, especially large businesses, to use in the case of a swine flu pandemic.

“In the event of pandemic influenza, businesses will play a key role in protecting employees' health and safety as well as limiting the negative impact to the economy and society,” the agencies said in a statement at PandemicFlu.gov. “Planning for pandemic influenza is critical.”

Along with how a pandemic could impact business operations, the checklist also includes valuable information that any organization can use to educate and inform employees on the dangers of the flu.

Officials suggest that businesses complete these tasks to communicate to and educate employees:

• Develop and disseminate programs and materials covering pandemic fundamentals (e.g. signs and symptoms of influenza, modes of transmission), personal and family protection and response strategies (e.g. hand hygiene, coughing/sneezing etiquette, contingency plans).
• Anticipate employee fear and anxiety, rumors and misinformation and plan communications accordingly.
• Ensure that communications are culturally and linguistically appropriate.
• Disseminate information to employees about your pandemic preparedness and response plan.
• Provide information for the at-home care of ill employees and family members.
• Develop platforms (e.g. hotlines, dedicated websites) for communicating pandemic status and actions to employees, vendors, suppliers, and customers inside and outside the worksite in a consistent and timely way, including redundancies in the emergency contact system.
• Identify community sources for timely and accurate pandemic information (domestic and international) and resources for obtaining counter-measures (e.g. vaccines and antivirals).

Educating and training employees on the dangers of the flu, including swine flu, is the best way to prevent illness within your organization and calm employees’ fears about a potential outbreak at work. Be prepared to answer employees’ questions and concerns, and prepared to squash any misinformed rumors that may be circling the office.

Whether your business is preparing for a natural disaster like a hurricane or flood, or a health crisis like the flu, your success will ultimately be determined by the information and training your workforce receives. Ensure that everyone in your organization knows what to do during a crisis. Your business depends on it.

Is it time for businesses to start getting involved? Is your company actively preparing for a swine flu outbreak? What types of informational materials/training have you provided employees with?

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.