If you haven’t noticed, the flu is being passed around faster than…I don’t know something that gets passed quickly?—A hot potato! In fact, it’s now at levels that are so high that it is considered an epidemic. So if you get sick follow these guidelines.
- Stay Home. If you have symptoms of fever, nausea, vomiting, coughing, congestion, stay home! Not only because you’ll be keeping your germs out of the workplace, but you’ll also be less productive than you’d be if you were feeling 100%.
- Know How Long You’ll Be Contagious For. If you feel like you’re ready to come back to work because you’re feeling better, you may still be contagious so keep these guidelines in mind for coming back to work:
- Stay home for 24 hours after your last episode of vomiting.
- Stay home for 24 hours after the last elevated temperature.
- Stay home for 24 hours after the last dose of anti-fever medication AND normal temperature for that 24-hour period.
- Stay home for 24 hours after antibiotics are begun for strep infections.
- Get a flu shot! There are a lot of people that are against getting it because “you can still get the flu” but the likelihood of you getting the flu after getting the shot is less than what it’d be if you didn’t get one. Plus, if you’ve ever had the flu, you know how terrible it is and there are more pros than cons to getting the shot. If you have excuses as to why you don’t want to get it, read this post on flu shot myths.
- Don’t Feel Guilty. If you need to use a sick day, don’t worry about it, they’re there for a reason. Your boss and your colleagues want you to stay home. If you’re in the office with a fever, nausea, coughing, etc…you’re interfering with the objectives of the organization and you risk infecting others.
- Wash Your Hands. In general this is something you should ALWAYS be doing but when there are a lot of germs going around take it to the next level—I’m talking Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets compulsion. For a how to on hand washing, go to 0:31 seconds of this video.
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