Dreading flu season? Here’s our take on how to reduce seasonal flu in the workplace.
A seasonal flu attack can disrupt your workplace because it can spread quickly among the staff. These disruptions may result in loss of productivity, customers, and eventually reduced profitability. Thankfully, you can reduce seasonal flu attacks in your facility with the help of professional cleaning services.
Why professional cleaning services? Your in-house team may not have the equipment and expertise needed to keep flu-causing germs and bacteria off your surfaces, especially in critical areas, such as
- Office phone: 92% of office phones become contaminated with infectious germs and it takes as little as 4 hours for employees to spread them to 50% of the co-workers.
- Office desk: the average office desk houses over 10 million bacterial organisms (more than the 400x the amount found on toilet seats).
- Light switches: can have high counts of fecal bacteria
- Restrooms: cleanliness can vary wildly, depending on your facility, but can post about 3,000 bacteria per square foot.
Here are three ways to reduce seasonal flu risk at your facility:
1. Schedule a deep cleaning of your workplace
An effective deep cleaning exercise requires the help of the pros, since they have the tools and expertise needed to clean surfaces and eliminate flu-causing germs. They also know exactly where to look: desks, keyboards, mouse, light switches, restrooms, and telephones. A professional commercial cleaner will also disinfect all surfaces and leave your offices and other spaces clean and safe.
2. Maintain a regular cleaning schedule
You also need to ensure your facilities receive regular cleaning. Your surfaces may look clean, but they may harbor lots of disease-causing microorganisms. Professional cleaners have the knowledge and chemicals for killing such microbes, reducing chances of your employees catching flu.
3. Update your company policies and protocols
Flu can spread quickly from one person to another, but there are ways you can minimize the risk of preventing its spread. Here are some practical ways to help you reduce the spread of flu in your facility:
- Post reminders for handwashing: Ensure everyone adopts a regular handwashing regime (such as whenever they enter or exit a room).
- Allow employees to take sick leave whenever necessary: Encourage sick employees to take leave and stay at home until they recover.
- Encourage employees to take flu shots: Advise employees to go for medication, or take more preventive measures, like taking flu shots.
- Cut down on office functions: You may want to consider allowing some employees to work from home, or from remote offices, to minimize onsite movement.
You can reduce the risk of seasonal flu and colds at your facility by enlisting professional cleaning services and adopting preventive measures to stop its spread. Grandmother’s Touch offers top-notch janitorial and industrial cleaning services in the GTA. Contact us to schedule a deep cleaning today.
