This year’s flu is scary. Officials at the CDC are calling it a “severe year,” and with flu activity still increasing across most of the nation, the worst is yet to come. Workers everywhere cringe to hear a cough or sniffle echo through the office. Why would a sick person come to work during a difficult flu season—or any season—when each shared meeting or touched coffee pot draws attention to their pestilential presence?

To find the answer, let’s look at why your sick employees are coming in to work, and what you can do to keep your office healthy.

1. Create a culture of wellness. Employees need to feel comfortable taking time off for illness. When calling out sick is met with a grumble from the boss, employees will often come to work anyway for fear of retribution. So encourage sick employees to stay home! This starts with teaching your leaders to promote a wellness friendly environment. Try an email reminder that encourages sick employees to stay home to recover. When an employee does call out sick, offer compassionate and understanding responses, such as, “Feel better soon” or “Take whatever time you need.” Leaders must also set a good example and stay home when they are sick.
2. Create a culture of flexibility. Even when sick employees are encouraged to stay home, they might say there is too much work to do. There are two solutions to this problem. You could try cross-training: making sure at least one other staff member is trained as a backup for the critical aspects of each job, such as designating a backup to run payroll when the payroll specialist is out of the office. You could also try telecommuting options: allowing an employee to work from home with remote network access and videoconferencing, especially if they are still symptomatic but feel well enough to work. Every employee must know the show can go on for a while without them—also important for vacation time!
3. Create a culture of health awareness. You can proactively reduce illness-related absences by increasing health awareness and limiting the spread of germs in the office. Try placing hand-washing signs in the restrooms, distributing hand sanitizer, and regularly sanitizing common areas such as break rooms and lobbies. You can also educate employees about the CDC guidelines for flu season, including the symptoms and the suggested recovery time.

The reality is, even a not-so-scary flu season will knock out a portion of your workforce every October to May. But by following these simple steps, you can help prevent the spread of illness and be on your way to a healthier, more productive office!