Supporting a healthy immune system in the workplace
As we have seen over the last couple months, the flu season has picked up and more people are falling ill more frequently. Immunity should be one of the main focuses for not only ourselves, but our staff as well. Now more than ever is the time to start focusing on immune supporting habits and encouraging these behaviours in the workplace.
Just as individuals are protecting themselves and their immune system from the outside, this needs to happen on the inside as well. As we know, stress can be a main driver in impacting the immune system. This is where your team's focus on managing stress could also help them maintain a healthy immune system and may also lead to better focus and energy. Immune supporting habits are small changes your staff can make to help better protect their bodies. These habits can be as simple as encouraging your staff to think differently about how they eat, exercise and manage their stress.
Encourage healthy eating habits
Encouraging staff to eat fresh fruit and vegetables is one of the small habits that will help reduce inflammation and maintain a healthy immune system. Providing staff with fresh fruit in the lunch room can be a good way to start the habit of eating these foods daily.
Staying active
Exercise offers many health benefits and plays a big role in promoting good blood circulation that helps the immune system function. Consider organising team exercise sessions or simply encouraging staff to block out time in their working day to get active. This could be a team walk after work or on the weekends or booking a yoga class. Not only would this get your team outside, soaking in Vitamin D, it can also acts as a team building exercises. This will also help with creating a positive culture in the workplace.
Managing stress
Stress can have a major impact on the immune system so figuring out a way to support your staff during stressful periods is very important. Currently, more and more practices are understaffed due to team members falling ill and the pressure and workload is falling on the remaining staff. Showing your team that you recognise and appreciate the extra work they are putting in will help maintain staff morale. This can be shown by rewarding staff for their extra efforts, for example, with a voucher to a spa or granting them an extra day off in the week once you have your full team back together.
Consider spreading the workload amongst your remaining staff to alleviate some stress. This could also be a good time to upskill remaining employees to take on extra duties so if this occurs in the future, they have the appropriate skills and techniques to tackle the tasks at hand.
These few tips and habits are a good starting point to maintaining a healthy workforce. Ensure staff are staying hygienic by regularly washing their hands with soap and water throughout the day and sanitising their desks, keyboards and phones at the end of each day. If staff are showing signs of cold and flu symptoms, it is vital that they are remaining to wear the appropriate personal protective equipment, distancing when possible or staying home if required.