Gary Woodill at Brandon Hall wrote an article today about some of the best resources he's found about preventing and fighting H1N1. All of these provide plenty of good information and great tips. Within the CDC's site, there's a page of flu resources for businesses, including a PowerPoint presentation and a couple of posters.
But I don't see anything yet that provides a nice, easy-to-read-while-standing-in-front-of-the-coffee-machine summary of what to do if you're feeling sniffly this morning or you've noticed that your cubicle neighbor is coughing a lot today. There's a big need out there for learning professionals to step up to. How can we help? What can we do to quell fear and maybe to keep our offices healthier?
- Let's be the ones to demonstrate just-in-time learning (health job aids?) by putting hand sanitizer at critical spots: office kitchens, reception desks, coffee and water stations.
- Does your office have a policy for what to do if people are sick, how long people with an illness (H1N1 or unidentified sniffles) should stay home, how to notify the company if H1N1 does arrive? If not, start a conversation about preparing. If yes, how can we help make sure people know and remember those policies? As we know better than most, one email does not stick. Let's keep reinforcing the messages so that people don't forget it the minute someone sneezes and the whole office thinks it's the end of the world.
- The CDC has some posters that can be put up in strategic spots, like maybe bathrooms, or the opportunity is ripe to build your own Killer Training Aid. (Side note: does anyone else think the "employees must wash their hands" posters in public bathrooms do more to make customers worry than to remind employees?)
What else can we do? Trainers, teachers, and organizers, unite! How can we fight flu FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) with facts and... prevention? (I couldn't think of another word that started with F.)
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