You’ve probably noticed it happening more and more lately – that distinct sound of people sniffling, co-workers clearing their throats or stifling sneezes. It’s not just winter that is coming, the Flu is coming too. To avoid losing your office troops to the battle of sick leave and contagious germs here are a few sure-fire ways to keep everyone happy and healthy.

Be Militant

Be militant in keeping the office clean. Whether this means increasing your office cleaners’ hours or hiring a team of cleaners for the first time, groups like AMC Commercial Cleaning know the difference between just wiping down the dust and actually removing germs properly.

Make It a Communal Effort

Give regular communal areas an even tougher clean up. This includes the kitchen, the staff bathrooms, and the fridges and shared work spaces. Once you’ve done that, distribute the surface spray and wipes, and make sure each staff member cleans their individual work space as well.

Stock Up

Anticipate the symptoms and stock up on tissues, hand sanitizers, and even a few sachets of Lemsip and Panadol in the first aid drawer. Inevitably, someone is going to be sick, but if you can stop the spread of infection you’ve already won half the battle.

Make the right Judgment Call

If you’ve lost one of your foot soldiers make sure they take the sick leave. Losing one employee for a week is a lot better than having a whole floor gone, or working at half their productivity rate because one person gave everybody the flu.

Remind Staff Repeatedly

There’ll always be one person who misses the memo, so when you know flu is on the rise regularly remind people in meetings, emails and noticeboard announcements. The key tips for individuals is always use and discard tissues, cover your mouth if you must cough or sneeze before you can find a tissue and wash your hands repeatedly.

The Flu can spread like wildfire, whether you’re in a massive floor wide office, or a small boutique workspace. If you haven’t already seen the damage it can do in the past couple weeks you’re bound to over the next few. But following a few simple rules of hygiene and sometimes calling in expert help to share the load can be the difference between a couple employees calling in sick, and a whole department lost for weeks on end.