Getting Back to the Office

As companies grapple with how to provide a safe workplace amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Envoy’s (www.envoy.com) survey of U.S. employees reveals concerns abound about whether companies can keep workers safe when returning to a shared office. The Envoy Return to Work Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,000 U.S. full- and part-time employees ages 18+ in August and September 2020. Findings include:

• Some 42% of employees who have returned to the workplace say they’ve experienced preventive measures that were either ineffective or not enforced, including six-foot distancing measures (25%), mask requirements (21%), and hand-washing requirements (18%).
• Employees are most concerned about not knowing if someone sick comes into the workplace (40%), too many people in the workplace at once (31%), and being indoors with lack of proper ventilation (24%).
• At the same time, employers can’t afford to overstep their bounds, with 37% of employees reporting they would consider a job switch over privacy concerns, including sharing health information.
• Despite concerns about a return, 90% say they do miss the workplace, especially friends and teammates (47%), small talk at the coffee machine or water cooler (31%), and perks such as lunch and snacks (36%).
• More than (94%) want to spend at least one day a week in the office.