3 Ways Small Business Owners Can Beat Germs in the Office

by / Friday, 11 July 2014 / Published in Productive Business Tips


Germs are not only unpleasant, but in a small business setting they can wind up costing a lot of productivity when key team members take sick days. Counteracting the potential for lost time is pretty simple, but unfortunately, offices often become hotbeds for germs because employees don’t take the steps they need to keep themselves healthy, or will come into the office while under the weather, spreading their sickness to those around them.

Hand sanitizer. Having hand sanitizer dispensers located around the office, particularly around food preparation areas and restrooms, can help stop the spread of microbes that occurs when sick people touch a surface that is touched by non-infected co-workers. Coming in to the office to avoid taking a sick day is a pretty common occurrence and employees may not realize that they are sick until half way through a work day. Providing a means to control physically transferred germs can mitigate the spread of infections even when there are sick people in the office. That being said, when someone is clearly sick at work, it is usually better to send them home. If possible they can telecommute in order to avoid losing too much working time, but if that is not possible it is still better than a single person getting your whole team sick.

Vitamin C. Many offices will have a beverage selection that they offer to their employees. In this case, it may be prudent to stock a drink option that includes a high amount of vitamin C during cold season. For businesses that don’t keep drinks on hand, having a few tablets of a cold prevention supplement such as airborne available by the water cooler can also suffice to keep people’s immune systems strong.

Stable temperature. In the Summer, AC often comes on at full blast, while in the Winter time, an office can fluctuate between stuffy and hot and freezing cold. Trying to aim for a stable temperature in the office in order to prevent people from getting sick. Going from hot to cold too frequently can weaken the immune system, which has the potential to increase the number of sick workers in your business should one of them be exposed to germs. Aside from germs, keeping a stable temperature is more inclined to keep your employees happy.

Photo Credit to NIAID on Flickr

Leave a Reply

TOP css.php