Preventing the spread of germs in the workplace

Basic hygiene, including washing hands, using sanitizer, and coughing and sneezing away from others, is an important way to minimize the spread of germs in the workplace. But a more effective step is encouraging employees who are ill to stay home.

Coming to work sick

A 2019 Robert Half study claims that 90 percent of employees admit going to work sick. Why? Many employees come to work anyway because they need the money; they don’t want to use up sick days; they have a lot of work they have to do; and/or they believe that they will be judged as being selfish, not a “team player”, or face retaliation from front-line management.

To overcome this challenge your executive leadership must stress that employees should stay at home if they are ill or feeling ill, and managers and supervisors must confirm and conform to that message. Just one employee can show up with COVID-19 and spread the virus.

Before executive management makes the announcement to stay at home if employees are ill, feeling ill, running a temperature or if they have come into contact with someone who is ill or diagnosed with an illness, they should stress to front-line management the importance of not countering that message, by explicitly or implicitly pressuring employees to come to work because of workload, scheduling issues, or staffing issues.

This content was provided by the McCalmon Group. The McCalmon Group, Inc. knows the workplace and the risk associated with it. They have unmatched experience in preventing loss, curtailing litigation and protecting those who interact with the workplace while at the same time increasing productivity and improving teamwork.