Working Smart: Stay Healthy at Work

Working Smart

By Elizabeth Hanink | Login to save as favorite | Send to friend | Print this article

Are the team members sniffling? Is stomach flu making its rounds — again? You can stay healthy at work by taking some advice from people who work around sick people: doctors, nurses and medical techs. For a start, wash your hands every time you come in direct contact with someone else or with their things. If getting to a wash basin is inconvenient, use sanitizers. Keep your hands away from your mouth.

Don’t share drinks, not even with two straws. If you need to sample the pad thai, ask for a separate plate and a clean spoon. At an office function, stick with items that don’t spoil. See someone double dipping? Resist. Throw out food that has been sitting around.

Fluids help, but not the sugared and caffeinated ones, because they dehydrate. Also, use your own cup. Wash it after each use and keep it at your desk. Eat yogurt to boost your immune system.

Stay away from people who work sick. Make it a habit to stand a few more inches away from everyone. When people call in sick, cut them some slack. At least they are not spreading their germs. Consider getting a flu shot. Some employers give them free.

Clean your work area daily. Use a cleaner you supply yourself, if necessary, and wipe off the phone, the computer and the desk. Don’t transfer items, even purses, from the floor to the desk. And, sorry, there’s no “three second rule.”

This article is from WorkingWorld.com

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1 COMMENTS

Catherine Rhodes
The best advice for keeping an office healthy is frequent hand washing. Equally effective is to have hand sanitizers placed throughout the workplace. Especially germy are doorknobs and elevator buttons.

Jan 22, 2009

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