Stay Safe During Flu Season: Tips for Keeping Healthy at the Office
Practice Good Habits While the Flu Runs Rampant
Flu season is a detriment to any office worker. Influenza spreads quickly, and if you aren’t careful you could catch it and be out of commission for a good amount of time. Even if you get a flu vaccine, it never hurts to take a few extra precautions to protect yourself from the illness.
With flu season upon us, practice these habits while you’re at the office to stay healthy and energized.
Wash Your Hands With Soap & Hand Sanitizers
The best way to fight against the flu is to wash your hands as often as possible. After you sneeze, blow your nose or eat some food, take some time to go to the bathroom and wash up. Be sure to use soap too, since it will kill any viruses or bacteria that are lingering on your hands.
You should also make sure your office is properly stocked with hand sanitizers as well. While not quite as potent as hand soap, sanitizers are still effective tools for combatting bacteria. Staying on a consistent schedule with washing your hands will lower your chances of contracting the flu.
Avoid Touching Your Face & Cover Your Mouth
A good habit to practice during flu season is to not touch your nose, mouth, or eyes with your bare hands. Germs can easily latch onto your hands, and they will spread to your face if you wipe your mouth with them, to give an example. Letting the germs spread to areas like the mouth or eyes will put you at greater risk of getting sick.
Always use a tissue when you need to blow your nose, and wipe your mouth with a clean napkin. If you don’t have a tissue and you have to cough or sneeze, put your hands in front of your mouth as cover. It’s much easier to clean germs off your hands than it is to wash them off your face.
Stock Up on Janitorial Supplies & Clean Thoroughly
Germs and bacteria can latch onto just about anything in the office, so it’s important that you work on keeping your space clean. Toss out any tissues you use, because if you let them sit around the germs will spread off them. Stock up on janitorial supplies and use them to wipe up your workstation, along with any flat surfaces in the breakroom and bathroom.
While you clean, you should focus on areas that are shared amongst your coworkers. Printers, coffee makers, and doorknobs are used by everyone in the office, and germs can linger on them for a while. Grab some cleaning solutions and disinfecting wipes and give them a good washing to kill off the germs before they can spread.
Eat Healthy, & Exercise During Break
In addition to everything already mentioned, practicing other healthy habits at the office will give your body a better chance of fighting the flu.
To start, you should pick out healthier food and snacks when you pack your lunch in the morning. Fruit, vegetables, salads, nuts, and other options like them are excellent for keeping your body healthy. A well-balanced diet is the key to keeping your body nice and strong.
It’s also a good idea to do some short exercises while you’re on break. When you have ten minutes to yourself, do some squats or stretches so you can stay in shape. Try not to overexert yourself though, because using too much energy can weaken your body and put you at risk.
Stay Home When You’re Sick
Despite your best efforts, there’s still a chance you could come down with the flu. If you recognize the symptoms, the best thing you can do is go home and work on recovering. Staying at work creates the risk of the illness spreading to your coworkers, which will hinder productivity further.
In addition, your body needs to rest when you’re unwell and it will take much longer to get better if you work yourself too hard. Rest at home, and come back 24 hours after the fever has broken. Most jobs allow you to work from home nowadays, so you might be able to catch up on some work as you start to recover.
If you want to properly combat the flu at work, you need to be stocked up on janitorial supplies. Don’t wait until the last minute, stock up today!