Sick employees can be costly for business, illness is often quick to spread in an office environment and cause a loss of productivity and rise in absenteeism.
If you’re trying to find ways to combat the problem then read on below about why you need the services of some corporate flu shot providers.
The impact of influenza at work
Every year in Australia there are thousands of confirmed cases of influenza; this understandably has a large impact on the Australian workforce.
Influenza is an infectious disease that usually results in fever, vomiting, sore throat, runny nose, headache, lethargy and muscle aches and pains. It ranges from mild to severe and even in its mildest form usually results in a few days off work.
More severe cases of the illness can result in employees being off work for weeks. It is highly infectious and spreads quickly, so an outbreak in the office or work environment can lead to a number of absent employees.
Infectious illness can result in heightened absenteeism and reduced productivity whilst employees are at work. Illness can be very costly for employers and negatively impact the work environment.
Workplaces should put some steps in place to avoid issues related to illness.
The influenza vaccination
Vaccination is the number one most effective way to avoid influenza in the workplace. There are many corporate flu shot provider’s out there that offer their services to businesses and make it easy to ensure that staff are covered against the illness. This can substantially reduce the rate of absenteeism and the number of employee that contract the illness throughout the year.
The vaccination offers protection against four different strains and is an exceptionally safe vaccination to give, adverse reactions are very rare. They are very unobtrusive to the normal work day – an injection nurse can vaccinate 3 people every 5 minutes, so there is no significant time lost with employees away from their desks.
Corporate flu shot providers will visit the workplace to carry out injections, this usually involves and initial preparation and booking process with employees prior to vaccination day.
Before you book your corporate flu shot provider you should have an idea in mind of what vaccines you would like to purchase and make available to employees, where you will house the onsite clinic (must be in a private area) and how many vaccinations will be required.
Once you have booked it is a good idea to delegate coordination tasks to an employee as it will be necessary to set times and prepare a list of names. Employees should come to the onsite clinic prepared with their relevant health information.
Getting a corporate flu shot provider to come into the workplace is a great way to prevent illness and absenteeism at work. Side benefits also include securing employee goodwill and raising awareness of the dangers of the illness.
Other ways to avoid getting sick
Whilst corporate flu shot providers are the most effective method of prevention, there are other things you can do around the workplace to reduce illness.
One of the best things you can do is to raise awareness with your employees about good hygiene and prevention practices. The best ways to do this are through internal meetings and posted information around the building. Make sure employees have access to regular reminders about hand washing, and reducing the spread of germs (such as by sneezing into their elbows).
Ensure that surfaces are regularly cleaned around the office to prevent the spread of germs, table, door knobs, telephone, keyboards and kitchen equipment should be wiped down and washed every day.