Essity survey reveals workers’ concerns going back to the office.

 

While ‘COVID fatigue’ has most workers eager to put the pandemic behind them, a new survey reveals that actions to increase health safety through better hygiene are here to stay. 

 

Global hygiene and health company Essity's ‘Return to the Workplace’ survey found that that 84 per cent of Americans intend to continue the enhanced hygiene practices they adopted during the pandemic such as more frequent hand washing and use of hand sanitiser, even as more people become vaccinated against COVID-19. 

 

However, employees question whether their workplace will maintain cleanliness protocols—with 65 per cent of employees who went into an office prior to COVID-19 expressing concern about the cleanliness and hygiene of the space before going back to the office. 

 

Moreover, as 59 per cent of employees who worked in an office prior to COVID-19 have at least some concern about being around co-workers, they also have heightened expectations of their employers when it comes to hygiene protocols in the office, and would like to see employers and building operators provide resources such as hand sanitisation stations (58 per cent), more frequent cleaning and sanitizing (58 per cent), hands-free restroom fixtures (48 per cent) and higher capacity paper towel dispensers in common areas and in bathrooms (35 per cent).

 

"As the world continues to open up and people resume interacting and living life in a more regular way, the role of hygiene will certainly remain more top-of-mind in the workplace and other public spaces than it was in the past, and this prioritized mindset comes across clearly in the research," Amy Bellcourt, vice-president communications, professional hygiene, Essity North America, said. 

 

Old habits can be changed as those who have already returned to the office are noticing some new co-worker behaviours: