Public sector employers are taking the H1N1 flu virus more seriously than their private sector counterparts, a survey reveals.

Morneau Sobeco’s 60 Second Survey of 226 employers suggests that 25% of public sector respondents believe H1N1 would reach pandemic proportions, compared with 9% of those in the private sector. These views mirrored the degree of preparedness, with 63% of public sector respondents indicating that they had identified a pandemic team and were in the process of implementing an action plan, while only 39% of private sector respondents were already implementing an action plan.

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“There are various actions that employers should consider in preparing for—or coping with—the H1N1 flu virus,” says Paula Allen, vice-president, organizational solutions and training, with Shepell•fgi. “These include employee education, access to vaccines and antiviral medication, business continuity planning, infection control measures and appropriate attendance management process.”

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Related: How to motivate handwashing
For employers looking to improve the status of personal hygiene in the workplace, new research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) indicates that shame, and not fear of illness, is the strongest motivator for proper handwashing for both men and women.

LSHTM collected data on the handwashing habits of 200,000 restroom users who had been exposed to LED screens at the entrance of the toilets. The screens displayed messages such as “Water doesn’t kill germs, soap does” and “Soap it off or eat it later.” This data measured soap-use rates.

The researchers found that handwashing rates were 32% for men and 64% for women. However, when exposed to the message “Is the person next to you washing with soap?” the result was a 12.1% relative increase in the handwashing ratio among men and a 10.9% increase among women.