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HR tasks

1. Do not tolerate employees coming to work sick and infecting others by implementing effective policy.

2. Make leaving work as soon as respiratory-disease symptoms appear easy for employees. Do not tolerate, ”But I feel good enough to work.”

3. Adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's suggested infectious-disease measures. These concern hand-washing; eye, nose, and mouth touching; management of coughing and sneezing; and the reporting of individuals with visible symptoms.

4. Administer influenza-vaccination programs for employees.

5. Implement a sick-leave/health-care-cost tracking and evaluation program.

6. Coordinate efforts and track results with facilities management.

References

1. Epidemiologic notes and reports mumps in the workplace -- Chicago. (1988, September 9). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, pp. 533-538. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001084.htm

2. Productivity. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/Books/lbb/x618.htm

3. Schaefer, P. (2007). The hidden costs of presenteeism: Causes and solutions. Retrieved from http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/presenteeism.htm

4. Kumar, S., & Fisk, W.J. (2002, July). IEQ and the impact on employee sick leave. ASHRAE Journal, pp. 97-98.

5. Fisk, W.J. (2000). Health and productivity gains from better indoor environments and their relationship with building energy efficiency. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, 25, 537-566.

6. Escombe, A.R., et al. (2007). Natural ventilation for the prevention of airborne contagion. PLoS Med. Retrieved from http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0040068

7. Smith, A.P. (1990). Respiratory virus infections and performance. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B, 327, 519-528.

8. Wargocki, P., et al. (2002). Ventilation and health in non-industrial indoor environments: Report from a European multidisciplinary scientific consensus meeting (EUROVEN). Indoor Air, 12, 113-128.

9. Seppänen, O.A., Fisk, W.J., & Mendell, M.J. (1999). Association of ventilation rates and CO2 concentrations with health and other responses in commercial and institutional buildings. Indoor Air, 9, 226-252.

10. Spengler, J.D., Samet, J.M., & McCarthy, J.F. (2001). Indoor air quality handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Did you find this article useful? Send comments and suggestions to Executive Editor Scott Arnold at scott.arnold@penton.com.

MUMPS OUTBREAK

Between Aug. 18 and Dec. 25, 1987, 116 employees at three futures exchanges in Chicago were clinically diagnosed with mumps. Three cases subsequently occurred among household contacts of affected employees. Twenty-one people developed complications; nine were hospitalized.¹ Direct medical costs exceeded $56,000, with more than 700 days lost.² The potential tort liability was significant because the mumps virus induced premature labor (which was arrested) in a pregnant employee. It is not clear whether any of the infected men were rendered sterile.

David Harlos, ScD, is an indoor-air-pollution scientist with more than 20 years of experience including governmental regulation, consulting, and university research. He served on the faculty of the Harvard School of Public Health and managed a national air-toxin-sampling network for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He is an active member of the Air & Waste Management Association and the American Industrial Hygiene Association. A member of HPAC Engineering's Editorial Advisory Board, Michael West, PhD, PE, is a building-systems scientist who investigates and engineers solutions to high-energy-cost, maintenance, and comfort concerns. A recipient of the Association of Energy Engineers' (AEE's) International Project of the Year award, he has extensive experience applying renewable sources of energy and directing the development and testing of cutting-edge HVAC technologies. He is an active member of AEE and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.