Keeping your employees in the best health

Autumn is here, which means offices are full of germs; there are people coughing and sneezing everywhere and if you work in HR, no doubt you’re really questioning whether you need to explain to people how to wash their hands, one more time.

The thing is, put any number of people in a confined space together and bacteria and viruses will spread, it’s just what happens. Here are a few tips to keep your business happy and healthy as it gets colder:

• Make sure you have a thorough cleaner coming in twice a week. There’s nothing worse than a bad cleaner, but there are plenty of them about. If desks and keyboards aren’t shining after their visit, what is the point in having them out in the first place? Make sure you’re paying for good service, and if they can’t provide that, look elsewhere.
• Stock the office with fruit bowls to encourage employees to have healthy snacks and get their supply of vitamins. Fruit is really cheap at the local market and if you select popular things like bananas, apples and grapes, it’s sure to be gobbled down by hungry workers.
• Provide adequate hand washing facilities and soaps in bathrooms and kitchens as well as leaving the occasional hand sanitiser around. Good soaps encourage people to wash their hands and sanitiser is a quick and effective way for preventing the spread of germs.
• Make sure the office has good ventilation, consider an air purifier if there are no windows.
• Encourage employees to eat away from their desk. According to Health.com, “One of the most important things you can do during the workday is to not eat at your desk,” so make sure people are getting up and about for their lunch by providing suitable places for people to eat.
• Introduce your employees to gym membership deals and local sports clubs to try and get them a bit more active. Exercise not only helps focus the mind but it’s excellent at keeping colds and mental illnesses at bay.
• Provide private health insurance cover as part of your work perks. According to smallbusiness.co.uk, Brits’ top five work perks put private healthcare right at the top, with 45% followed by complimentary food (fruit bowl) and flexible hours. To see General & Medical’s corporate health insurance plans to suit the whole business, from senior management to temporary staff, Find out here.
• Place water coolers around the office to remind people to keep hydrated. Too much caffeine can actually make people dehydrated and tired so it’s good to remind people there’s more to life that tea and coffee.
• Provide plenty of support by taking advantage of General & Medical's 24/7 Health and Wellbeing support and if you’re concerned about an employee, find out what is wrong and make sure you put an Employee Assistance Programme into place until they’ve got things sorted.