Business leaders report they expect to have 51% or more of their employees back in the physical workplace by January 2021, according to the  2020 Return-to-Work During COVID-19 Pandemic Study by Traction Guest.

However, 90.6% of employees will take action if their employer fails to create a safe onsite work environment, including raising concerns to authorities or labor unions (39.5%); exploring new employment opportunities or resigning (30.7%); and considering legal action (20.4%).

The study also found that 43% of employees report their employer has not introduced any technologies to ensure physical health and safety since the start of the pandemic.

“Reopening facilities during COVID-19 presents complex challenges for employers. The associated costs and business disruptions are alarming if nearly a third of employees depart because they don’t feel safe onsite. Employers have the choice to either COVID-proof their offices now or risk losing employees,” said Keith Metcalfe, CEO at Traction Guest.

“Software can provide significant value by streamlining secure collection of health attestations and COVID-19 screenings while centralizing shift management and emergency communications. This technology can also reassure employees that their health and wellbeing are a top priority.”

Employee Concerns and Confidence About Returning to Work

The study found that 64.2% of employers report they will return 51% or more of their employees to the physical workplace by the end of January 2021.

Some employers expect to have 75% in-office capacity by this winter:

  • 15.2% of employers plan to have 75% in-office capacity by Winter 2020
  • 27.8% of employers plan to have 75% in-office capacity by Spring 2021
  • 38.3% of employers plan to have 75% in-office capacity by Summer 2021
  • The study found that more than one-quarter (26.2%) of employees do not feel confident in their employer’s approach to inviting staff back to the office. Additionally:

Almost a quarter (24.9%) are not confident about their employer’s approach to screening individuals for COVID-19.
A similar amount (22.7%) do not feel confident about their employer’s communication capabilities for emergency situations.

Over a quarter (25.9%) of employees do not feel confident about their employer’s ability to accurately account for all people entering their workplace at any given time.

When it comes to their employer’s ability to retain or delete their health-related information and use it appropriately, 21.4% do not feel confident in their employer’s approach. When asked what precautions would make employees more confident about returning to work, employees identified the following:

Daily screening for COVID-19 symptoms for employees before they arrive onsite at a workplace location (56.8%)
Frequent or routine COVID-19 testing for all employees (55.6%). Controlled number of staff returning to work on a given day (50.6%)

Over half (51.8%) of employees feel that employee and visitor check-in/out systems would make them feel more confident about returning to the workplace amid COVID-19, and security access control systems (39.8%) were named as a technology that would boost employee confidence. However, 43% of employees report that their employer has not introduced any technologies to ensure physical health and safety since the start of the pandemic.

When asked what action they would take if their employer failed to create a safe in-office work environment, employees reported they would:

  • Raise concerns to authorities or labor unions (39.5%)
  • Explore new employment opportunities or resign (30.7%)
  • Consider legal action against their employer (20.4%)