It happens every year: one day you hear a colleague coughing in a distant cubicle, the next everyone in the office is downing Dimetapp and calling in sick. Office influenza outbreaks can seem like an unavoidable inconvenience during the winter months, and as lawyers, it can be tempting (or sometimes even expected) to simply work through the illness at the expense of your health.

 

For those of you who can’t afford to lose a client, deadline, or trial to the flu, Insights has prepared three tips beyond the standard flu vaccine that will maximise your chances of making it through the winter months unscathed.

 

 

HealthDirect Australia advises office workers to regularly clean your office keyboard and telephone, as both can be hotbeds for germs. Indeed, smart phones specifically can attract and retain an unsettling amount of germs – a study conducted by The Wall Street Journal found that smart phones can host between 2,700 and 4,200 units of coliform bacteria (drinking water, by comparison, contains less than 1 unit per 100 ml of water).

 

While typical germ-killing tools such as Lysol spray can be detrimental to your smart phone screen, there now exist an array of smart phone-tailored hygienic wipes that ensure your portable conduit to your clients can remain free of the flu.

 

It’s no secret that a healthy diet yields a variety of health benefits beyond a trim waistline. Dr Joel Fuhrman, a US family physician and author of Super Immunity, told Entrepreneur that promoting good nutrition and boosting your immune system is the most effective way to fend off the flu at work.

 

“Our best protection that gives us the strongest superman-like armour against illness is really keeping ourselves healthy,” Fuhrman said.

 

“Feeding your body processed foods means that when you do catch a virus, it can last longer or turn into something more serious.”

 

Fuhrman recommends a group of foods he refers to as “GBOMBS” – greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds – for bolstering your immune system against colds and flus.

 

 

There will be times where, despite your best efforts, you will be felled by the common flu. As irksome as this may be (especially during a demanding work period), it is integral to both your health and the health of your colleagues that you remain at home, give yourself time to recover, and (if the symptoms persist) see your doctor for the prescription of antiviral drugs.

 

However, while the law can be unforgiving of absence, a period of self-imposed quarantine does not need to bring your productivity to a halt. Working from home is now more viable than ever, and if your supervisor is forced to choose between allowing you to meet your deadline remotely or risk losing half of the office to the flu, they are sure to agree.