Health & Safety

Preventing Germs From Spreading at Work

By Fatima Cristina

With the cold weather upon us and all of us heading indoors, it’s time for me to take this opportunity to talk about keeping germs and illnesses from spreading at work. Some of you may already know that I am the office “germaphobe” . I embrace that title! My main concern is to make sure that  all our employees are protected from injury and illness so that you all can get home safely to your family every single day.
It’s important that we all do what we can to keep from spreading germs around the workplace. All of us working together will help to support a healthy and steady workplace operation. Here are some important steps for protecting yourself and the rest of our staff from spreading illnesses.

  1.  Stay home when you are sick. This will not only help in the spread of illness to the rest of the staff but it will help you to recover much sooner.
  2. Keep your distance. If you think that someone around you is coming down with an illness, then avoid close contact with that person. Remember not to share items like phones, pens, or food.
  3.  Cover your coughs and sneezes. This is so important to do, but not with your hands! Use a tissue or your inner arm. Germs spread so quickly through everything we touch.
  4. Wash your hands. Washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds can help the spread of germs.
  5.  Use hand sanitizer. If soap and water are not available, make sure to use hand sanitizer to keep your hands free of germs. When using shared office supplies, appliances, and equipment, be sure to use some hand sanitizer after each use.
  6. Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects. Disinfecting wipes are a great way to keep germs from spreading from frequently touched surfaces. Make sure to wipe down your desk, phones, steering wheels, door knobs and other shared work surfaces.
  7.  Be prepared, informed, and educate others. Lead by example! It takes all of us to understand how germs spread so help to educate your coworkers.

As the flu and COVID-19 are expected to spread at the same time this season, we encourage all our employees to take further steps by getting a flu shot and COVID-19 booster shot to keep the health and safety of our staff a priority.