As a business coach, it is your responsibility to teach your clients the key components of running a successful and profitable business. For most small to medium sized business owners, this is increased sales, lowered operating costs, leadership development, marketing, and proper communication. These are very important aspects of running a business, but your step-by-step coaching guide should include more. What? Health and wellness in the workplace.
In terms of health and wellness in the workplace, some business owners and operating mangers have it all wrong. Some literally believe that unless their employees are dying or in the hospital, they should be at work. Yes, those in good health should show at work and arrive on time. There are however, many consequences to not promoting a happy and healthy workplace. As a business coach, it is your job to outline these consequences for your clients.
As previously stated, some employers want their employees at work, no matter how they look or feel. This is very dangerous. Not just for the sick worker, but for everyone else in the workplace. A good example is to highlight common illnesses, such as the flu, the stomach bug, and the common cold. Print information from the internet showing the many and easy ways that these viruses spread. Then highlight the consequences, which could include everyone in the office coming down with a cold. Unfortunately, not everyone will get sick all at once. They will continue passing the virus around. One cold can negatively influence an entire office for weeks.
Using the internet and printed guides to show how easily germs and colds spread from coworker to coworker is a great approach, but it isn’t enough for all. A great approach is to test surfaces. Do not opt for someone’s office or workplace, as the results may be embarrassing. Instead, test a common area, such as a commonplace phone, filing cabinet, or bathroom. Some test kits are available for sale, but they usually give limited results. Bite the cost and get true lab testing. In fact, include the cost in with your fee. There is no denying the results. Even cleaned offices have germs, many of which are the cause of viruses and colds.
As previously stated, a simple cold can affect a workplace for weeks. This is because not all coworkers come into contact with each other at the same time. It could take weeks or months for an entire office to run through a cold. Once again, not all office managers and business owners understand this. You need to show them. Use volunteers. In fact, use the entire staff present for training.
Take one individual, he or she is sick, but called in sick to work. Set that volunteer aside. They stayed home; therefore, are not passing germs around the office. Then take another volunteer; they are sick, but still went to work. In just the first hour of the day, they came into touching contact with three different coworkers. Those then turned around and encountered six more, and so forth. Create a line showing all the people who will get sick. Compare the two. Yes, one employee does miss work, but it is much better than having the entire staff out of commission. It is a chain reaction.
As previously stated, it is your job to educate business owners and managers on the key components of running a business. However, to properly implement those components, happy, healthy, and well staff members must carry out those actions. Otherwise, time is wasted, productivity is low, and the results are poor.