Many employees may find it strange that with the end of summer, their employers start offering free flu shots, going so far as having the medical staff administering the shots come on-site to the office. But keeping employees healthy has real benefits to companies; providing a vaccine against one of the most common and contagious ailments faced by employees is a no-brainer for many organizations.
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According to Kat Smith, “each year in the U.S., the flu is responsible for 200 million days of diminished productivity and 75 million days of work absences. Employees who stay home sick or come to work sick and spread the virus to others have a clear impact on your company’s bottom line.”
Flu season represents a double risk to employers: first that more employees will be out of the office meaning that others will be left to pick up the slack, or that important tasks are undone; second that, if employees do show up to work under the weather, the impact on absenteeism could grow even greater. It’s clear to see why offering a means of minimizing the impact of flu season is becoming more and more attractive to companies around the country.
And, as noted above, the flu is highly contagious. Since we spend so much time in the office around other people, it benefits all of us to have our colleagues contagion-free.
“Recent studies indicate that getting a flu shot can reduce an individual’s chances of getting the flu by up to 60 percent,” says one expert. “This impact can be amplified within an organization, helping to prevent illness from spreading among the workforce and reducing time employees spend away from the office while sick.”
Keeping employees healthy not only saves money from a health insurance standpoint; keeping employees healthy, productive, and in the office keeps productivity up and boosts morale as well. Unfortunately, some employers are better at convincing employees to take advantage of such programs than others.
Here we’ve talked about the reasons companies spend the time, effort, and resources to encourage employees to get those shots. In a follow-up post, we’ll talk about some strategies companies can use to make sure employees actually take advantage of such programs.