How to Avoid Getting Sick

Psychology Today: Dodging the Office Plague

One of my recurring daily tasks is creating a “Staff Out” report for my employees.  Each morning, I arrive at work, call the computer system, and get a list of the teachers in my school who had phoned in as sick, as well as finding the names of the substitutes who will be covering for them.  If the computer system did not find a substitute for a particular teacher, I assign coverage duty to one of the assistant teachers in the building.  Some days the list is small, but lately, the list is getting rather lengthy on most days. 

The issue in my profession is that substitutes are not acceptable replacements for teachers.  They do not have the training, the knowledge of the students, a knowledge of the content, the passion for the profession, or a strong desire to see students perform.  Don't get me wrong, they want to do a good job; They just don't have the ownership of that classroom as does the teacher.  Your profession is probably the same.  Whether you are a secretary, custodian, sales rep, real estate agent, engineer, manager, or CEO, your organization never runs as efficiently and well as when you are there.  After all, you’ve had the training, the product or position knowledge, the expertise and skills.  No temp will ever take your place that will have the same drive or dedication that you do.  Absences of those who do not require the use of temps, even if never articulated by superiors or peers, still affects the organization’s performance (Spoken like a true workaholic, eh?).

We can’t prevent ourselves from getting sick, but here are some ways to sway the odds in your favor:

• Take your vitamins – Stay away from the mega-doses; a simple multi-vitamin will do.
• Wash your hands – A lot.  The ubiquitous anti-bacterial lotion does nothing to prevent colds, as colds are caused by viruses, not bacteria.  In addition, their overuse may help bacteria become resistant.  Hand-washing is better.
• Keep our office/desk clean…and disinfected – Visitors who may be ill may come in and handle objects on your desk.  When you pick them up, you also pick up viruses and bacteria they may have left.
• Get enough sleep – Not enough weakens the immune system.

More ideas are over at Psychology Today.

Comments

[Bert]

Thanks to Sam for catching my typo on alot.