Five Simple Ways to Keep Your Workplace Healthy This Flu Season

Flu season hygiene tips are easy to overlook, but they make a real difference to how many people end up calling in sick. Your cleaning provider does a lot behind the scenes, yet a big part of keeping a workplace healthy comes down to what happens day to day, desk by desk. Here are five simple habits from the team at SPS Facilities that help stop colds and flu moving through the office. 

Why flu season hygiene tips matter at work

Flu viruses spread easily in shared spaces. They travel on hands, settle on high-touch surfaces such as door handles and keyboards, and move quickly through open-plan offices, staff rooms and meeting rooms. When one person comes in unwell, it rarely stays with one person. A few small, consistent habits across a team can slow that spread, reduce sick days and take pressure off everyone left covering the workload. It also helps protect colleagues who are more vulnerable to serious illness, such as older staff, people with ongoing health conditions and anyone who is pregnant.

5 easy flu season hygiene tips for your workplace

1. Wash your hands properly, and often. Wash before eating, after using shared equipment and after the bathroom. Use soap, scrub for at least 20 seconds, get between your fingers and dry your hands thoroughly. It sounds obvious, but it remains one of the simplest ways to cut down the spread of colds and flu.
2. Wipe down shared surfaces after you use them. Keyboards, phones, meeting room tables and the office kitchen bench see more traffic than most people realise. A quick wipe at the end of each use, particularly on hot desks, stops germs passing from one person to the next. Keep a pack of disinfectant wipes in each meeting room and kitchen so nobody has to go looking for them.
3. Make the most of what’s already there. Hand sanitiser stations and supplies only help if people actually use them. Use sanitiser when you arrive, before meetings and after touching shared equipment, so it becomes a habit rather than an afterthought.
4. Let some fresh air in. Where you can, open a window or check that the ventilation is doing its job. Moving air helps, and stale, crowded rooms are where winter bugs tend to linger.
5. Stay home if you’re unwell, and flag anything that needs attention. Coming in sick usually means more people off sick a week later. If you notice full bins, empty soap dispensers or low sanitiser, tell your facilities team so they can respond straight away rather than waiting for the next scheduled visit.