Return to Work Survey Results

As U.S. workers and employers alike try to sort through the data and conflicting opinions about the relative safety of working onsite during the COVID-19 pandemic, JDP recently surveyed 2,000 Americans about returning to work during the coronavirus pandemic. The results perhaps reflect the considerable confusion that exists about coronavirus, how it spreads, what steps can mitigate its spread, and the pressure employees feel when asked to work onsite.

So many questions. What practices provide effective protection against workplace spread? What measures are mandated by federal, state, and local governments? What are the liability risks that employers face for workplace coronavirus exposure? What measures can employers take to help employees feel safe? These are all questions subject to different answers, depending on the source—a lot for both employees and employers to sort through.

Return-to-work survey. Yet, as JDP noted, whether or not employees are ready, their employers may soon ask them to return to the office. To find out how workers feel about returning to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, JDP recently surveyed 2,000 Americans. Here’s what the survey found:

• 86 percent of respondents favor a staggered four-day work week to limit the amount of people in the office.
• 69 percent said they trust their coworkers to respect their personal boundaries in regards to Covid-19.
• 63 percent said they have issues as to being tested by their employer for the virus or for antibodies.
• 62 percent of Americans think people who return to the office earlier will be favored by management.

When asked about precautionary office measures, American workers prefer:

1. No handshakes, hugs, or fist bumps
2. Limited people in the office
3. Keeping workstations six feet apart
4. Limited people in the elevators
5. Daily in-person screenings

About the survey. Between June 12 and June 16, 2020, JDP polled 2,038 Americans who typically work in an office of some sort, but have been working remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents were 49 percent female, 51 percent male, and ranged in age from 22 to 66 years old.

Source: By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

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