More US Workers Fear Returning To The Office Due To COVID-19
USA – Less than half of surveyed workers in the US are worried about returning to their office due to fears of catching COVID-19 or exposing their family members to the dreaded disease, according to the results of a study published by The Conference Board on Wednesday (1 September).
“As the Delta variant continues to proliferate and workers head into the Labour Day weekend, 42 percent of workers are worried about returning to the workplace for fear of contracting COVID-19. This marks a substantial jump from June 2021 when only 24 percent had that concern,” said the non-profit business group.
“With headlines about the rise of the Delta variant, breakthrough cases among the vaccinated, and an overburdened healthcare system in much of the country, COVID-19 concerns that were subsiding just 2 months ago have risen,” added The Conference Board’s Executive Vice President of Human Capital, Rebecca Ray.
In particular, 37 percent of the surveyed men are worried about getting ill from COVID-19 while at work, whereas 48 percent of the females said so. 40 percent of the male respondents fear infecting their family members, while 46 percent of the women were worried about this.
Some respondents also said they have been pressured to return to their office to keep their jobs. 15 percent of the polled male workers had experienced this, while it was 25 percent for the women.
By age group, 30 percent of the millennial respondents said they received such pressure, versus 21 percent for Generation X and 19 percent for Baby Boomers.
Asked about their preferred work arrangement, 67 percent said they are willing to have a hybrid set-up that blends working in the office and working remotely. In comparison, 20 percent want to work remotely full-time, while merely 4 percent want to return to working in the office full-time.
Interestingly, lower-level staff tend to prefer working remotely compared to higher-level employees.
The Conference Board survey was conducted in August and involved over 2,400 employees across the United States.
