Minimizing a Pandemic’s Impact on Your Workplace

There’s a lot to tell your employees about pandemics and how to prevent the spread of infection. Here’s a sample of key information, excerpted from BLR’s PowerPoint® training presentation, “Pandemic Flu: How to Prevent and Respond,” which is just one of many new training programs you’ll find online at BLR’s Web-based Employee Training Center .

Transmission

Flu is primarily transmitted through the air when infected people cough or sneeze. But flu viruses can also be transmitted in other ways. For example, you could get the virus if you:

• Shake hands with a contagious person who has flu germs on his or her hand


• Touch a surface, such as a doorknob, phone, keyboard, counter, or tool, handled by an infected person (although contracting the flu virus this way is unlikely)

Symptoms

Initial flu symptoms may include:

• Fever (usually high)


• Headache


• Fatigue


• Cough


• Sore throat


• Runny nose


• Muscle aches


• Stomach upset

Indications that the flu might be getting worse include:

• Rising fever


• Increased respiratory distress


• Bluish skin


• Shaking chills


• Pain


• Confusion


• Inability to move an arm or a leg


• Persistent vomiting

Be sure to advise employees to see their doctor if they or a family member experiences early signs of the flu during a pandemic. If symptoms get worse, they should call their doctor right away, or call 911 if the doctor is unavailable.

---

Unlimited employee safety (and HR) training—one low cost. No setup, no software to install. Find out why the Software & Information Industry Association just voted the BLR® Employee Training Center the Best Workforce Training Solution.

---

Preventing the Spread of Infection

CDC says there are several critical steps workers should take to stop the spread of flu germs during a pandemic:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.


• Cover your nose and mouth Cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm (where your elbow is) rather than coughing into your hands if no tissue is available.


• Cover your nose and mouth Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 15 to 20 seconds, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleansers are also effective


• Cover your nose and mouth Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.


• Cover your nose and mouth Try to avoid close contact with sick people or people who might be contagious. Whenever possible, stay away from crowded places, and stay at least 6 feet away from someone who is contagious.


• Cover your nose and mouth Stay home from work if you get sick. That will help you rest and recuperate, and it will also help prevent the spread of infection to co-workers and others.

---

No time to prepare or deliver training? With the BLR Employee Training Center, your employees can start taking essential training courses the same day you sign up. Workers (and supervisors) train at their convenience, 24/7. We track, and you save with this turnkey solution. Yes, it really can be that simple—take a no-obligation test drive and see.

---

Get the Training Materials You Need

The Employee Training Center’s 23-slide audio presentation on pandemic flu also explains what a pandemic is and how it can affect the workplace. In addition, the program provides tips for dealing with pandemics at home. The presentation includes detailed speaker’s notes, a trainer’s guide, and a quiz to make sure your workers get the message.

And the pandemic flu course is just one of more than 60 safety training courses available in the Employee Training Center. These are all motivational, actionable programs—for both supervisors and employees—in such key areas as hazard communication, back safety, general workplace safety, bloodborne pathogens, OSHA requirements, and many more. And, what’s more, we add new programs continually.

Just as important, the Employee Training Center automatically documents training. As trainees sign on, their identifications are automatically registered. And when the program is completed, the trainee’s score is entered. So, when you want to see who has or hasn’t yet trained on any subject, or look at the across-the-board activity of any one employee, it’s all there, instantly available to you, your boss, an inspector—even a plaintiff’s attorney.

The Employee Training Center also includes a similar selection of HR courses—you decide whether you want just the safety courses or both the safety and HR modules.

And from the standpoint of your accounting office (an important standpoint in these tight times), you always know exactly what training will cost, no matter how many programs you use or how many times you use them. There’s just one low annual fee for unlimited training, calculated by the size of your workforce. Budget once and you’re done!

We urge you to sign up for a no-obligation demo by visiting the new Employee Training Center. Or, feel free to call our customer service people toll-free at 866-696-4827.

Other Recent Articles on Training
Spiders and Ticks and Mosquitoes—Oh My!
Safe Handling of Flammable and Combustible Liquids
First Rule of Safety: Know Your Job
Best Practices in Safety Orientation