If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or need help, call 988 or message the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
We almost can’t believe it, but yes, we do. Total measles cases jumped 18% to over 9 million worldwide last year, but those numbers are still rising, and we may blow past that this year. More school-age children in the U.S. have vaccination exemptions now than ever before, which means that we can expect measles to continue to rise in the US over the next few years. Right now, workplace cases should remain relatively low, but as this new wave of unvaccinated kids enters the workforce in the next decade, it’s likely to rise, especially because measles is so contagious. Having clear, short-term outbreak plans for measles (and other vaccine-preventable contagious diseases) is going to be required, and your teams will need to get good at deciding when to initiate them.
Source: STAT
Respiratory virus season is officially here, and that means managers will be handling sick employees and call-outs related to employees' sick kids who are forced to stay home from school and daycare. The reality is that more workers will call out sick in the next three months, especially in the weeks after holiday gatherings when they’ve traveled and been with larger groups indoors. If you can, consider staffing up in anticipation. You can also encourage your employees to go get their flu and COVID shots. As sick as we all are of hearing about it, there are still millions of Americans who are NOT against vaccination who just haven’t gotten their shots this year. It may be about convenience; it may be not wanting to have side effects. Encourage your team leaders to share their stories - just one person saying, “I got the booster yesterday, and my only side effect was a sore arm for one afternoon!” can be the difference maker for someone on the fence. Emphasize how easy it can be - and advertise it internally if you offer paid time to go get vaccinated. It can really make the difference between reducing operations and having enough staff to stay open this winter if you can convince even just a small fraction of your on-the-fence employees to get their shots.
Source: NIH
Every year, without fail, we hear of clients or their employees getting sick from a home-cooked meal during the holidays. With all the food safety practices in place in restaurants, it’s easy to forget that the same risks apply at home, and holiday meals can have extra risk factors. First, and always the most stressful: defrosting the turkey properly. It’s always best to do this in the fridge, but it takes a long time. Never thaw by leaving your turkey on the counter, though! Next is cross contamination, a threat with all home cooking but especially when people are preparing complicated meals with lots of moving parts. Wash your hands every time you touch your bird! The last big one we’ll highlight today is refrigerating your leftovers within two hours of cooking them. It’s easy to leave food out all day, but that allows bacteria to grow. For more tips, check out the CDC’s guide, too.
Source: CDC
Note: We're off next week to spend some time with family, and we'll be back on Tuesday, Nov. 28th.
Because it’s Thanksgiving, we also want to acknowledge that we are settlers on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. ZHH's office is located on Wappinger and Munsee Lenape land.
.svg){kind=small}
