H1N1 Guide From The Society For Human Resource Management

Here's a PDF from the Society For Human Resource Management with comprehensive employer tips on how to prepare for, and deal with, the H1N1 issue.

The key is helping people stay home when they're sick because it really does prevent the spread of the disease. Unfortunately, employees might feel pressure to come into work because:

• They feel deadline or sales pressure.
  
• There are inadequate sick time allowances or programs.
  
• There are unintentional incentives to come into work sick. For example, some employers lump sick and vacation into a simple paid time off category. Less use of this category for sick time means more vacation time or cash-out potential upon termination.
  
• There is a culture of working at any cost and sickness is considered a sign of low motivation towards the team.
• There are limited or no tools for tele-commuting.
• There is poor communication from senior managers (not just HR) about the need to stay home when battling the flu or other contagious diseases.
• Parents have little or no support for sick kids at home. Sick kids generally mean sick parents which can easily mean sick co-workers. Sick time policies should be flexible and include caring for loved ones.
  

In the end, it's always better to have a few people stay home longer than have more people get sick. People will pay attention more to your actions than words, so work with your employees and managers to do a thorough analysis of your organization's approach and ensure that people can do the right thing when ill. There is very clear research that although people may read policies or emails, they will only change behavior when they see peers and managers doing it first. This means that any kind of credible change will require employee and manager involvement and education, and behavioral change from managers and influential employees. Good luck!