Work Advice: An accidental snoop, a flu-phobic manager

Reader 1: While looking up a position description for a friend interested in applying for a job at my company, I inadvertently discovered that I have network access to personnel files with salaries, promotions, termination issues, ratings, etc. Some of the data has Social Security numbers and other personal data I am confident I should not have access to.

I wish I had immediately closed the first file and alerted HR, but I didn't. I looked at the ratings, salaries and new hires. I now feel like I can't report the issue without "outing" my own indiscretions - I fear that there is some kind of electronic "fingerprint." I have only been at the company a short while, and I worry that I could be fired or create a big black mark in my personnel file. What do I do?

A: Oof. I wish you had immediately backed off and alerted HR, too. But if wishes were horses, we'd all carry shovels.

You have to notify someone ASAP about this security hole - for the company's protection, your co-workers' and yours. The longer you wait, the worse it will look. To use your analogy, if police investigating a bank break-in find your fingerprints everywhere, it's better if you've already told them you were there, instead of waiting to be confronted with the evidence.

Ask your supervisor to help you notify the proper individuals. Say you were slow to realize that you were seeing things you shouldn't.

Keep records of your conversations - save emails, mail yourself sealed letters - to document who you talked to and when. The lapse isn't your fault, but you could be caught in the crossfire. Ideally, though, they'll be glad the breach was discovered by someone whose worst impulse was nosiness, not malicious mischief.

Reader 2: I just got my flu shot, but my five workers refuse to get one. None of them has ever had the flu, and they believe myths that circulate about the flu vaccine.

We work in cosmetics and often come into direct contact with customers' skin. Hand sanitizer is already available, and staff members wash their hands regularly. Still, I'm worried that one sick customer or employee will wipe out my staff for a week or, worse, make someone we serve very sick.

Karla: As discussed during last year's flu season, you can't require workers to be vaccinated. You can offer vaccines, post educational materials and send home anyone who's sniffily or feverish.

But given the up-close-and-personal nature of your business, customers might appreciate seeing you take extra precautions during flu season, such as wearing non-latex disposable gloves, making a point of using sanitized or disposable applicators, even offering to wear paper face masks for close-up work. It wouldn't be the first time the beauty industry has benefited from emulating the health care field - although wearing a stethoscope would be a step too far.

• Miller has written for and edited tax publications for 16 years, most recently for the accounting firm KPMG's Washington National Tax office. You can find her on Twitter, @KarlaAtWork.