Spring can be a difficult time for Sydneysiders who suffer from allergies. As the seasons change, many people begin to feel their senses tested, with a constant urge to sneeze, irritated eyes, a blocked or runny nose and other symptoms. Sydney experiences peak pollen count in springtime, making this a particularly trying time of the year for locals. Getting through the day can be difficult enough, but facing a day at work where you have to be sharp can be even more difficult.
Employers should aim to ensure that their workplace is as safe and comfortable as possible for their employees. For example, achieving ISO 45001 certification, the most up-to-date standard in Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, guides employers on how to achieve quality and environmental management systems to create a safer work environment.
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In this article, we’ll explain how you can help your employees work comfortably throughout the seasons and continue to support your team throughout the year.
Start With a Risk Assessment
Before making any short- or long-term changes to your business, it’s important that you carry out a thorough risk assessment. Take the time to consider how you can minimise the symptoms of allergens in the workplace. A risk assessment involves analysing the main dangers of your workplace. For example, if you work in a warehouse, the wide open doors enable the breeze to bring allergens in at a fast rate. This would go in your allergy risk assessment, along with mitigation methods such as ensuring the doors are closed as much as possible.
Begin with identifying ways to minimise the possibility of hay fever. From here, it becomes easier to identify ways to limit other allergen exposure, for example, mould, food, dust mites or pet hair. Be sure to involve your staff in the assessment process, ask questions and conduct surveys to make the best improvements possible.
Remove Any Potential Allergens
Undoubtedly, the best way to make your workplace a safe and comfortable place for anyone suffering from allergies is to remove potential allergens. Once you have carried out your risk assessment, you can focus on key areas where you can make the most gains.
Many employers find that they have a lot of plants in the office, which is great for improving air quality but can cause issues for employees who suffer from hay fever. Likewise, having the windows open during the day might allow more fresh air to circulate in the office, but it will also allow more allergens to come in from outside, particularly when the pollen count in Sydney is at its highest.
Consider Your Office Layout
While it might not be possible for every employer, if you have a large office space, you could consider rearranging your office space to give employees who suffer from allergies their own offices. Working in a dedicated space will minimise their exposure to potential allergens. If this is not feasible, you could consider moving employees with allergies away from the windows and doors.
Simply being away from doors and windows can have a positive impact on employees who suffer from hay fever or who suffer from any other allergies. While this is an effective strategy year-round, it is even more important to implement during springtime when pollen counts are at their highest.
Arrange Regular Workplace Cleaning
Maintaining a clean workplace is important and is something that every employer should already be doing. Employees with a dust mite allergy can have a very bad allergic reaction if dust builds up over time. Luckily, something as simple as cleaning your office regularly can help to keep this potential issue at bay.
Employees who suffer from hay fever might also find that their symptoms worsen if the office is not regularly cleaned, as pollen can be transported into the office on other employees’ clothing as well as through open doors and windows. Vacuuming the workplace regularly will help to remove dust and pollen that might cling to fabrics.
Create a Separate Area for Outdoor Clothes
Regardless of how your staff travel to work, they will inevitably be outdoors for some of the journey. In the springtime, your employees might also like to go for a walk during their lunch hour to get some much-needed fresh air. All of this increases the risk of pollen and other allergens being transported back to the office on your employee’s clothes.
To minimise the risk of bringing more allergens into the workplace, consider providing a separate area for outdoor clothes. You can set up an area where employees leave their coats, jackets and umbrellas when they come to work or return from their lunch break so they don’t keep them at their desks or workstations.
Remain Open To Flexible Working
The option to work from home is often a perk of working within a particular company. However, it can also be important to help employees who suffer from allergies, especially in the springtime but also throughout the year. Having the ability to stay at home in a controlled environment can really help to reduce the impact of hay fever and other allergies.
Allowing your employees to work from home when allergies start to flare up will prevent their symptoms from getting so bad that they can’t work. If they work remotely instead, then the overall productivity of your team should not be affected.
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Make Changes in Your Business to Minimise the Impact of Allergens
As an employer, you want to ensure that you do everything that you can to provide a safe and healthy work environment for all of your employees. Following the tips above, you can help to significantly reduce the chance of allergens entering your workplace moving forward. Not only will these changes make your workplace safer and more comfortable for employees, but they will also reduce downtime and sick days and keep productivity high.
