It's that time of year again. Employees start calling in sick due to bad allergies. But while allergy season impacts everyone, it can also be made significantly worse by allergens in the workplace. How can you make your employees feel better during allergy season?
Understanding Allergies: Why Are Your Employees Getting Sick?
Some people do not function anywhere near their full capacity when they suffer from allergies—it's just impossible to concentrate. While medications may work from time to time, a lot of people become nearly immune to their benefits over time. No one wants a crew of sniffling, coughing, headache-y employees, and that means an employer could find themselves down a significant number of staff members during allergy season.
Despite the fact that the allergens come from outside, you can still have control over how bad allergies get inside the office. Allergens tend to be cumulative. Someone may not have any reaction to a specific pollen count, but the second they get exposed to additional pollen, they experience a significant allergic reaction. Once the tipping point is reached, the immune system activates and responds to all perceived threats.
Luckily, there are ways that you can take control.
Reducing Allergens in the Workplace
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Conduct an indoor air quality test. Begin by determining whether it's even a problem in your office. If your office is accumulating a lot of dust, pollen, and other traditional allergens, an indoor air quality test will reveal it.
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Purchase air purifiers. Air purifiers are the most direct way to purge the air of potential allergens. With the right air purifiers, your employees may feel better at work than at home during allergy season.
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Give your office a deep clean. Most offices should be cleaned by professionals from time to time, as employees don't usually have the time for regular dusting. It's possible allergens have accumulated throughout the year and are just getting bad during allergy season.
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Improve the ventilation of your work spaces. Many people falsely believe ventilating work spaces actually lets more allergens in, but the opposite is true. Outdoor air quality tends to be better than indoor air quality due to poor ventilation.
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Keep humidity at the appropriate levels. 50 percent humidity is usually the best for indoor air quality. The addition of a humidifier can keep your employees healthy and happy.
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Pay attention to potential environmental issues. There could be a specific area of the office that's carries more allergens than others. Does one employee come in with dog fur, and is another employee allergic?
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Inspect plants in the office. Some plants will still flower indoors, and these flowers could be contributing to the pollen count. Even fake plants can cause problems—they're seldom actually dusted!
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Bring in a specialist. If your employees are suffering from severe allergies, consider offering allergy shots or allergy testing. This will tell your employees exactly what is in the air that they're allergic to.
After conducting an indoor air-quality check, your team should invest in an office air filtration system or establish a regularly scheduled cleaning and quality-control plan with the right supplies during allergy season. Visit the ELEVATE Marketplace to discover options for your office.
