The New Mask Oriented Office: New US Survey Shows How Workers Feel about the New Normal

ATLANTA, Sept. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey by award-winning answering service VoiceNation, shows that 86% of the 1,700 US office workers surveyed nationwide say that their company has made masks compulsory in the workplace. Of these, 60% said their company requires masks to be worn at all times, in all areas, while 25% said their company requires them to be worn only in communal areas. Only 4% said their company has made masks voluntary and they plan to wear one, while 4% said masks are voluntary but they won't wear one. 

In certain States, masks are more likely to be compulsory at work, with 69% of those in New York and 68% of those in California stating that their companies have already made them compulsory, compared to just 36% of those surveyed in Georgia and 42% in Indiana. 

81% of respondents are ok with wearing a mask in the office, of which 51% said they will wear one as long as is necessary, as they understand that medical evidence shows masks reduce transmission of COVID-19. However, some office workers were less happy:
- 15% said they would find it too much to a mask all day
- 16% said they don't mind wearing a mask at work short-term, but would be less happy if the policy was for the long-term
- 7% said they won't be able to do their job the same if wearing a mask
- 5% don't like having to wear a mask at work at all, as they feel it inhibits their freedom and human rights. 

Trust in the boss

While the majority of US workers (83%) trust their employers to maintain CDC guidelines for the full duration of the pandemic, 17% don't trust them to do so.

However, there were variations between the different States: 26% of workers in Colorado and 40% in Mississippi, do not trust company bosses to maintain CDC guidelines. 

The return to the office

Workers seem divided over how they feel about returning to the workplace: a quarter of those surveyed are entirely comfortable with returning, while a further 37% are somewhat comfortable, but with some concerns about COVID risks. A further quarter of workers are not at all comfortable with returning to the office.

There are variations between the industry sectors: 37% of those working in finance, 35% of those working in education and 35% of those in IT and Telecoms, not at all comfortable with returning to the workplace.

Once again, the different states showed variations: 42% of workers in Minnesota, 40% in Colorado, 40% in Oregon and 38% in California, not comfortable about returning to the workplace.

Commenting on the survey, Eric Schurke, VP of Operations for VoiceNation said:

"Post lockdown is a critical time for businesses as they re-establish working patterns and locations and build staff confidence in the workplace. It can either make or break the future of your company culture, especially for those companies that have a hybrid system with some employees in the workplace and some continuing to work from home. It's really concerning to see that only 25% of people are 'entirely comfortable' returning to their place of work, as it means that means 75% of staff have some level of concern. That's a huge number that must not be ignored. Maintaining employee safety and well being in the workplace must be the top priority right now, to build trust and maintain employee engagement that is likely to have been lost over recent months."

About VoiceNation

VoiceNation, an industry leading live answering service, has won countless awards for its superior call handling. It was recently acquired by leading outsourced communications provider Moneypenny (www.moneypenny.com/us). VoiceNation uses highly trained, professional, US-based operators and award-winning proprietary software and caters its business answering services to thousands of clients.VoiceNation began in 2002 as a virtual PBX company but grew into the live answering industry in 2009. Since then, VoiceNation has not closed its doors one single day. VoiceNation is a 24-hour live answering service that takes calls including weekends and holidays. The company is proud to be able to offer business continuity as companies shift to remote work during COVID-19. VoiceNation even reduced its prices to help keep small businesses afloat during this time of uncertainty. To learn more about VoiceNation, please visit https://voicenation.com.

For further information pls contact: Mary Jane Greenhalgh, maryjane.greenhalgh@moneypenny.co.uk / +44-(0)-7866 722051/ +44-(0)-333 2021005