H1N1 and me

I've been in and out of the office for a week now. My 4 year old son had some sort of virus that gave him a high fever and kept him laying on the couch watching cartoons the entire time. Call it H1N1 or flu or whatever, it doesn't really matter. This was my first real experience with an unplanned absence as an employee with responsibilities.

There is never a really good time for an expected absence, but I'll just say that there is rarely a worse time. My Company is at the end of our dental, disability and flex spending open enrollment. There is follow up, form issues, payroll changes and verifying data from our benefits partners. Not to mention the rest of my job! And, it needs to get done this week.

Below are a few things that helped me get it all done with very little inconvenience to my customers, our employees.

1. Working half days. Our policy is that if an exempt employee works at least a half day, you have worked the day. This policy encouraged me to split the day off with my husband - morning shift for me, afternoon shift for him. Otherwise, I would have taken more days off because I have more days available than my husband. Working a half day also allowed me to keep a close eye on my son, which was really important.

2. Communication. It's so easy to communicate. My Company phone allows me to check and send emails when I am out of the office. I was able to keep my boss updated on the status of my son and let him know when to expect me the following day. I read and deleted all non-essential emails so that I could focus on priorities when I returned. My SmartPhone is a benefit that the Company provides to me and boy did I take advantage of this benefit while out of the office.

3. Flexibility. Hours worked are not as important as getting the job done at my Company (see point 1 for reference.) I was able to schedule and interview canddiates, make an offer, and accept an offer from a candidate while at home. I gave candidates my cell and home phone number to contact me with any questions since my schedule was inconsistent. I took reading material and paperwork home to review so that my valuable time in the office was as productive as possible.

4. A Laptop. You can't work with just a SmartPhone. We have designated a spare laptop that can easily be modified and given to any employee who can reasonably do their job from home in an emergency, including me. A spare laptop sounds so simple, but it's been a great resource to offer our employees who want and are able to take care of their job and responsibilities.

Flu season has just started, so I would love to hear about the creative ways that you are keeping your workers productive during absences. What else can we do?