Comments on: Web Working Without Winter Worries http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/02/16/web-working-without-winter-worries/ Rebooting the workforce Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:36:05 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: HVAC http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/02/16/web-working-without-winter-worries/#comment-42166 HVAC Mon, 16 Apr 2007 08:08:17 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/02/16/web-working-without-winter-worries/#comment-42166 <strong>HVAC</strong> The type that only have a duct that ejects air externally are not HVAC

The type that only have a duct that ejects air externally are not

]]> By: Anne 2.0 » Blog Archive » Feeling Sick or Stressed? Check out Web Worker Daily’s Latest http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/02/16/web-working-without-winter-worries/#comment-24750 Anne 2.0 » Blog Archive » Feeling Sick or Stressed? Check out Web Worker Daily’s Latest Fri, 16 Feb 2007 21:25:46 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/02/16/web-working-without-winter-worries/#comment-24750 [...] Our new writer Matthew with ways to keep Winter bugs away [...] [...] Our new writer Matthew with ways to keep Winter bugs away [...]

]]> By: Bob Grommes http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/02/16/web-working-without-winter-worries/#comment-24749 Bob Grommes Fri, 16 Feb 2007 20:55:52 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/02/16/web-working-without-winter-worries/#comment-24749 This is a topic of special importance to me because working from home is a huge quality of life issue for my wife, who is severely immune compromised. A two-day sniffle for you or me can mean three weeks of misery for her. So working from home in and of itself greatly reduces the odds of me bringing some illness home. In fact the office environments I worked in last were very sickness-inducing -- the workspace was in interior rooms in cramped quarters with other people and equipment. In one case, the equipment was a bank of laser printers that ran more or less continuously -- spewing toner fumes into the poorly ventilated room. My co workers and I were sick almost constantly, trading germs with each other. Avoiding the stress of a daily round trip commute that can amount to one or two hours of driving in heavy traffic doesn't hurt either ... less stress equals better health. The tips you mention such as hand washing are good common-sense tips but most people feel funny about implementing them in an overt fashion. In an office environment, I have seem people discreetly keep a bottle of antiseptic hand rinse or some Lysol at their desk and use it when others aren't looking. The beauty of working at home is that I don't even have to worry about this sort of thing unless I go to a public space. I watch local news reports for a sense of when flu season is really kicking in locally -- it can vary quite a lot from year to year. Once it starts, I venture out only for absolutely necessary things -- regrettably doctor appointments is one of those, and one of the worst places you can go, but a trick we've found is to get an appointment first thing in the morning before the waiting rooms (and the HVAC system) fills up with pathogens. We buy clothes and even food online and have it delivered. It's not a fun way to live but it only lasts a couple of months and we are basically homebodies anyway. Several years ago I found out quite by accident that I had an underlying health problem that made me prone to catching everything in sight. I had this dealt with and in the years since then, I have had about a 90% reduction in the number of colds and flu I have caught -- and when I do catch something it is much milder and with fewer complications. In fact after a lifetime unknowingly living with this health problem, I had trouble even recognizing when I was sick, it was so mild. So don't overlook paying attention to your own health and getting any underlying issues dealt with if possible. Most of us just soldier on no matter what, and it can be a self-defeating behavior. This is a topic of special importance to me because working from home is a huge quality of life issue for my wife, who is severely immune compromised. A two-day sniffle for you or me can mean three weeks of misery for her. So working from home in and of itself greatly reduces the odds of me bringing some illness home. In fact the office environments I worked in last were very sickness-inducing — the workspace was in interior rooms in cramped quarters with other people and equipment. In one case, the equipment was a bank of laser printers that ran more or less continuously — spewing toner fumes into the poorly ventilated room. My co workers and I were sick almost constantly, trading germs with each other.

Avoiding the stress of a daily round trip commute that can amount to one or two hours of driving in heavy traffic doesn’t hurt either … less stress equals better health.

The tips you mention such as hand washing are good common-sense tips but most people feel funny about implementing them in an overt fashion. In an office environment, I have seem people discreetly keep a bottle of antiseptic hand rinse or some Lysol at their desk and use it when others aren’t looking. The beauty of working at home is that I don’t even have to worry about this sort of thing unless I go to a public space.

I watch local news reports for a sense of when flu season is really kicking in locally — it can vary quite a lot from year to year. Once it starts, I venture out only for absolutely necessary things — regrettably doctor appointments is one of those, and one of the worst places you can go, but a trick we’ve found is to get an appointment first thing in the morning before the waiting rooms (and the HVAC system) fills up with pathogens. We buy clothes and even food online and have it delivered. It’s not a fun way to live but it only lasts a couple of months and we are basically homebodies anyway.

Several years ago I found out quite by accident that I had an underlying health problem that made me prone to catching everything in sight. I had this dealt with and in the years since then, I have had about a 90% reduction in the number of colds and flu I have caught — and when I do catch something it is much milder and with fewer complications. In fact after a lifetime unknowingly living with this health problem, I had trouble even recognizing when I was sick, it was so mild. So don’t overlook paying attention to your own health and getting any underlying issues dealt with if possible. Most of us just soldier on no matter what, and it can be a self-defeating behavior.

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