Get Ready for the Flu: How to Handle H1N1 at Your Nonprofit Office

Thursday October 22, 2009

Although the Daily Beast lists 8 diseases Scarier Than Swine Flu, it is Swine Flu that might strike your nonprofit office later today.

People who work for good causes are typically dedicated beyond what most people would believe possible. Therein lies the danger. When you're managing a group of hardworking idealists, you don't worry so much about malingers as about a sense of "over-responsibility." Your folks may be in the habit of working through anything. This is different. You may have to step in and send people home.

Lyn Freundlich, Director of Administration and Human Resources at Third Sector New England, provided some pointers for nonprofit organizations about how to handle H1N1 at the office:

Take Staff and Constituent Well-Being Seriously.
The fact is that sick staff in the office or in the field spread illness. The flu that is hitting us now is an unknown. We can't just assume that a sniffle or a cough is not serious. Show that you care about everyone in your office and all who come in contact with them.
Review and Align Your Sick Leave Policies
First communicate your expectations to the staff: if you are sick, stay home. Then show them that you mean it. Explain how you will handle sick leave. If someone has used up all of the sick time, will they be penalized? Tell everyone, up front, how you will handle these situations. Perhaps you will want to waive your usual practices for the duration of the flu season. Or you might want to provide a way for staff to make up time later.
Don't Require an Ok from a Doctor.
Physician offices are overloaded, and they don't want to turn their waiting rooms into infection centers. Mild cases might distract from more serious ones needing rapid attention.
Be Sensitive to Staff Members With Children.
Those kids might become ill, or even have their schools closed. Reassure staff that their families are important to you too. Work with parents so that they can provide the care their children need.
Prepare for Contingencies
Identify your most critical business functions (like payroll, for instance) and create back-up plans if they don't already exist. Involve staff in these discussions and then communicate these plans to everyone. Not only will doing so ensure that people understand their roles, it will also reassure employees that the sky won't fall if they need to stay home.
Consider stocking meeting rooms, copy stations and other common spaces with hand sanitizers and tissue.
Most of All, Be Proactive.
Decide now how you will handle illness over the next few months, communicate your policies, be consistent, and be firm. Help your dedicated staff do what they need to do.

Tips to Stay Well or Get Better Sooner From the CDC:

Symptoms of flu include fever or chills and cough or sore throat. In addition, symptoms of flu can include runny nose, body aches, headache, tiredness, diarrhea, or vomiting.
Stay home until at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) or signs of a fever (have chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating). This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medicines like Tylenol or Advil.
Also remember to cover your coughs and sneezes and wash your hands often with soap and water. Use an alcohol-based hand cleaner if soap and water are not available. If a severe flu outbreak hits our community, we will take additional steps to avoid spreading the flu virus in the workplace.

You can get more information at Flu.gov

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