Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to set up routines that will help you,
Speaker 1: your family, and your colleagues or employees stay healthy during
Speaker 1: the winter. Illness feels horrible, of course, and it can
Speaker 1: also wreak havoc on your schedule, whether it's you getting sick,
Speaker 1: your kids getting sick, or both. Organizations likewise, can wind
Speaker 1: up in a tough spot when the entire sales department
Speaker 1: comes down with the stomach bug. If you're running an organization,
Speaker 1: here's what you shouldn't do. Be stingy with sick days.
Speaker 1: This just backfires. One study from account Tempts found that
Speaker 1: ninety percent of professionals had come into the office sick,
Speaker 1: generally because they felt they had so much work to
Speaker 1: do or because they felt they had to spare the
Speaker 1: sick days for something Even worse. Sick people get other
Speaker 1: people sick, and when they don't take it easy, they
Speaker 1: prolong their illnesses or make them worse. Now, I know
Speaker 1: there's some gray area and some of those ninety percent
Speaker 1: might be just a small case of the sniffles. One
Speaker 1: way to deal with this is to have a very
Speaker 1: liberal work from home policy. If your company does this
Speaker 1: sort of work that can be done flexibly, then make
Speaker 1: it clear that anyone feeling under the weather but mostly
Speaker 1: functional is welcome to work as they can from home
Speaker 1: without taking PTO. Anyone caring for a sick child who
Speaker 1: doesn't need constant attention is welcome to do the same.
Speaker 1: You will buy incredible employee loyalty this way. As for
Speaker 1: individual habits, well, I know this sounds trite, but really
Speaker 1: wash your hands when you use the soap in a
Speaker 1: public restroom. Do you check that you get a big glob?
Speaker 1: Do you really scrub it around everywhere? Front, back, your wrists,
Speaker 1: your nails. Does your hand washing take the full twenty seconds?
Speaker 1: It's supposed to be careful what surfaces you touch after
Speaker 1: washing your hands, too. Door handles and light switches can
Speaker 1: be interesting places under a microscope, especially in winter. Make
Speaker 1: it a family rule that everyone washes hands when they
Speaker 1: come in the door. Kids getting off a bus can
Speaker 1: drop their backpacks, take off their shoes and heads straight
Speaker 1: to the sink before getting a snack. Put a bottle
Speaker 1: of hand sanitizer in your car so people can use
Speaker 1: it whenever they get in after touching the outside world.
Speaker 1: Kids can attach portable bottles of hand sanitizer to their
Speaker 1: backpacks or keep them in their lockers to use before lunch.
Speaker 1: Put a big bottle of hand sanitizer on your desk
Speaker 1: and use a squirt every time you get back there.
Speaker 1: If someone in your household does get sick, it can
Speaker 1: be really tough to keep it from spreading. I know
Speaker 1: in my house, if a stomach bug has hit three children,
Speaker 1: it's just a matter of time before it hits the fourth.
Speaker 1: But using disinfecting wipes on surface says like door handles
Speaker 1: can help. Aside from hand washing and disinfecting, part of
Speaker 1: staying healthy is just taking care of yourself in general.
Speaker 1: So get enough sleep. Remember that going to bed early
Speaker 1: is how grown ups sleep in. Eat your fruits and vegetables,
Speaker 1: manage your stress, and get some physical activity. But if
Speaker 1: you do go to the gym, make sure you use
Speaker 1: the hand sanitizer after touching cardio equipment or weights. Bacteria
Speaker 1: and viruses turn out to be more faithful gym goers
Speaker 1: than many of us are. In the meantime, this is Laura,
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: before Breakfast Pod. That's b the number four than Breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: At iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
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