How to Protect Your Employees During Cold & Flu Season: A Guide for Business Owners and Facility Managers

As the colder months set in, businesses in the United States prepare not only for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and quarter one of the next business year, but also for the surge in cold and flu cases that typically follows. For business owners and facility managers safeguarding your employees is vital for maintaining productivity. According to Clorox, productivity losses linked to absenteeism cost employers $225.8 billion or $1,685 per employee each year in the United States. OSHA penalties for facilities responsible for major outbreaks requiring employee hospitalizations range from $16,131 per violation to $161,323 per repeated violation.

At Bee Line Support, a certified medical-grade commercial cleaning company, we understand the importance of cleanliness and sanitation in disease prevention. This guide provides actionable steps and best practices to protect your employees, customers, patients, and students during cold and flu season.

When is the Cold & Flu Season in the United States?

The cold and flu season in the United States generally peaks between late fall and early spring, when respiratory illnesses like influenza and the common cold spread more easily in workplaces. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu alone can lead to tens of millions of illnesses annually, with symptoms ranging from fever, coughing and sore throat to severe complications requiring hospitalization. The CDC estimates that the flu season results in hundreds of thousands of hospital visits and tens of thousands of deaths each year in the United States. Viral infections such as Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Norovirus and COVID-19 are primarily spread through respiratory droplets that are released when someone coughs, sneezes or talks. Small droplets linger in the air for minutes to hours and possibly infect people more than six feet away or after the infected person has left the area.  The flu virus can also survive on surfaces and objects that an infected person touches. If someone touches a contaminated surface and then touches their face, mouth or eyes they can become infected. Common cold germs can live on surfaces for up to one week. The Coronavirus can live from a few hours to a few days. 

Protect Employees With Rigorous Cleaning Protocols

One of the most important strategies for preventing the spread of illness in the workplace is implementing a rigorous cleaning schedule. High-traffic areas, shared spaces, and frequently touched surfaces are breeding grounds for viruses. It’s essential that these areas are cleaned and disinfected regularly, ideally multiple times per day. Particular attention should be given to high-touch surfaces such as computer equipment, doorknobs, elevator buttons, light switches, and countertops. In addition, communal areas like breakrooms, restrooms, and conference rooms should undergo deep cleaning using medical-grade disinfectants. How often you disinfect should depend on your business situation. Some industries may have areas requiring frequent disinfection. In the case of hospital facilities, inpatient wards and high-touch areas, these should be cleaned at least once a day. Terminal cleaning protocols should be implemented between patient visits, especially in emergency rooms and exam rooms. Retail spaces, with their constant foot traffic, should focus on frequent disinfection of checkout areas, fitting rooms, and product displays. There are major differences between cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting that business owners should familiarize themselves with to ensure their facilities are receiving the proper services. Regular disinfection is essential to creating a hygienic environment.  

Encourage Hand Hygiene

Encouraging hand hygiene among employees is one of the most effective measures in preventing the spread of the germs that cause cold & flu. Businesses should make it easy for employees to practice good hand hygiene by installing hand sanitizing stations throughout the facility, especially near entrances, break rooms, and shared equipment such as printers or vending machines. Posting reminders in restrooms and common areas can also help reinforce the importance of washing hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. Restrooms and kitchen areas should be fully stocked with soap, hand towels, and hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol to ensure employees have access to the supplies they need to maintain proper hand hygiene.

Improve Indoor Air Quality

Poorly ventilated areas can become hotspots for cold and flu transmission, especially in closed office settings. Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) is a rating system that measures how well an air filter removes airborne particles and pollutants. MERV ratings range from 1 to 20, with higher numbers indicating a more effective filter. A MERV scale of 5-8 is suitable for commercial workspaces with a score of 9-12 being superior. Hospitals & surgical centers are required to have MERV scores of 13-16. Businesses should ensure that their HVAC systems are well-maintained, with air filters replaced regularly. Upgrading to filters with higher MERV ratings can help trap smaller particles, including viruses. Using air purifiers with High Efficiency Particulate Air filters (HEPA) can also improve indoor air quality. HEPA filters work by forcing air through a fine mesh that traps particles in the filter’s fibers. In larger facilities, the use of UV-C light technology in HVAC systems can help neutralize viruses and bacteria. Germs passing through the HVAC system are exposed to the UV light and the rays are absorbed by the germs’ DNA. The UV light damages the DNA of the germs making them unable to reproduce.

Encourage Sick Students & Employees to Stay Home

Encouraging sick employees to stay home is another critical step in preventing workplace outbreaks during cold and flu season. Many employees may feel pressure to come to work despite being unwell, but allowing them to rest at home is essential to protect the health of others. Businesses should have a clear sick leave policy that encourages employees to stay home if they experience symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, or body aches. For those who can perform their duties remotely, offering flexible work-from-home options can be an effective way to reduce the number of employees in the office and limit the potential for exposure to illness. It’s especially important to ensure that facilities policies comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines. In-patient hospitalizations must be reported. Facilities managers must complete Form 300A and send electronically to the OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA) within 24-hours. OSHA encourages employees to report early signs of work-related injuries and illnesses. Employees have the right to report these signs and symptoms without fear of retaliation. Schools should encourage parents to keep sick children at home to reduce the potential for contamination in the close quarters of student classrooms, cafeterias and locker rooms. Schools can make reasonable accommodations to students who are sick and miss class. Schools are required by law to accommodate the health needs of students. 

Provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) When Needed

Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) when necessary can also help protect employees, especially in high-contact environments. Encouraging the use of masks during periods of high transmission is particularly important for employees working with vulnerable populations, such as elderly individuals or patients in healthcare settings. While not every business requires the use of PPE, providing it during cold and flu season adds an extra layer of protection. For industries such as healthcare, education, and retail, where employees frequently interact with others, offering face masks and gloves can help minimize the risk of viral transmission. PPE reduces exposure to pathogens and is very effective at reducing the spread of illness. According to the IRS, PPE expenses for your business are tax deductible on your federal tax return.

Why Choose Bee Line Support for Your Facility's Cleaning Needs?

During cold and flu season, the need for heightened sanitation measures makes partnering with a professional cleaning company like Bee Line Support especially beneficial. While in-house janitorial staff can handle daily tidying, Bee Line Support offers medical-grade cleaning expertise that goes beyond standard cleaning services. We specialize in medical-grade cleaning protocols that meet infection control standards, and we use high quality hospital-grade disinfectants from Diversey. We offer customized cleaning plans tailored to meet the specific needs of your business, ensuring that every high-touch area and shared space is properly sanitized.

Protecting your employees, customers, patients, and students during cold and flu season requires a proactive and comprehensive approach. By implementing rigorous cleaning schedules, encouraging hand hygiene, improving indoor air quality and distributing PPE where needed, businesses can significantly reduce the spread of illness. At Bee Line Support, we are committed to helping businesses maintain healthy and safe environments through our medical-grade cleaning services. Whether you are managing an office building, retail space, or healthcare facility, we are here to support you in creating a clean and healthy workspace during this critical time. Call 312-BEE-LINE or Click ‘Get A Quote’ to learn more. 

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