An update
With the emergence of several new strains of the Coronavirus, return to work strategies were thrown into uncertainty at the beginning of 2022. While many restaurants, retail outlets, warehouses, and factories continue to operate as normal, it has been less clear as to the return to work strategy for office workers.
63 percent say that they are more concerned about the healthiness of their workplace today than they were before the pandemic
From our research, we believe that change is largely driven by worries about the flu season and concerns about being in contact with unvaccinated people.
58 percent of employees are worried about falling ill with flu, while 57 percent say they are concerned about encountering people who have not had a jab against COVID-19.
More generally, 63 percent say that they are more concerned about the healthiness of their workplace today than they were before the pandemic.
Employees now say the healthiness of the working environment impacts their mental wellbeing (55 percent), their physical wellbeing (57 percent), their productivity (48 percent), and their decision to join and to stay at a company (36 percent and 43 percent respectively).
With increasing awareness among staff of the importance of workplace health, employers need to ensure that a concern for their welfare is a top priority. But what do employees need to feel safe and comfortable in the workplace?
After over two years of following public health advice, employees are aware of what they need to feel safe and reassured at work. Most significantly, this awareness impacts where employees want to work.
A quarter (25 percent) still wants to work from home at all times, while 25 percent prefer to always work in the office. 38 percent say a hybrid environment would be their preferred structure, where they work partly in the office and partly at home. Yet this is not purely out of concern for the safety of the workplace.
84 percent of staff already think that employers care about their wellbeing. Meanwhile, more than two fifths (44 percent) would go into their physical workplace more often if their employer made changes to make the environment more pleasant.
Indeed, employees mention some precise circumstances that would make them happier to return to the office full-time. For example, being around more people in the office is appealing for over a quarter of employees (26 percent), while a livelier atmosphere with different surroundings to their home attracts a further 26 percent.
44 percent of employees would go into their physical workplace more often if their employer made changes to make the environment more pleasant.
26 percent said that receiving a booster vaccine against COVID-19 has made them more willing to return to the office.
However, over a quarter (26 percent) said that receiving a booster vaccine against COVID-19 has made them more willing to return to the office.
Similarly, employees support the introduction of some specific interventions that would make them feel safer about going into the physical workplace alongside unvaccinated people during the flu season:
A fascinating finding is that employees want to access information about the healthiness of their workplace.
58 percent of employees agree that they would feel more comfortable returning to the workplace if their employer used data to improve their workplace, including data on air quality and building occupancy.
These numbers remain steady from the previous study, where the same proportion (58 percent) reported feeling more comfortable if their employers used data to improve the healthiness of their buildings. But what is remarkable is that respondents say they want greater visibility over the data themselves. Employees say that, if it were available, they would like to see data on:
The data suggests that while employers are trusted to want to build a healthier working environment, taking active steps to do that is not always enough. Instead, employees who are increasingly concerned about their health are curious about the environment where they are spending their time.
58 percent of employees reported feeling more comfortable if their employers used data to improve the healthiness of their buildings.
60 percent of employees say they want to see data on cleaning information.