What Do Hand Washing and Telecommuting Have in Common

What Do Hand Washing and Telecommuting Have in CommonWhat Do Hand Washing and Telecommuting Have in CommonHand washing AND telecommuting can both be important aspects of preventing the spread of infectious diseasesThe Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology released the Report to the President on U.S. Preparations for 2009-H1N1 Influenza yesterday. The report presents a scenario that could occur during the coming flu season. The potential scenario includes3050% of the U.S. bevlkerung becoming infected with swine flu,as many as 1.8 million U.S. hospital admissions during the epidemic, andup to 90,000 deaths.The CDC has resources on their website to show people the proper ways to practice hand hygiene including what to do when you sneeze, how to wash your hands, and how to use hand sanitizer properly.Even employers that do not ordinarily offer telecommuting should be getting ready for flu season by implementing telecommuting programs and policies.Without a plan for tel ecommuting, some people will come to work even if they are sick. Staying home significantly impacts a workers paycheck, especially if they have used all of their sick days or do not have any to begin with. Employers also suffer when a large portion of their workforce are out sick.The perfect solution is to plan ahead for people to work from home as much as possible if there is an outbreak. Although this is not ideal in all situations, it can help to prevent the majority of the workforce from being out for large amounts of time.If employees can accomplish all or even part of their daily duties from home, the impact to the employer, and to the employees paycheck be significantly less.Handwashing and telecommuting could be the key to success this flu season. Is your current employer prepared?