Half of UK employees “eager to return” to work post-lockdown: study
18%, in contrast, believe it is “too soon” to return regardless of additional safety measures.
Half of employees in the UK are ready to return to work post-lockdown, assuming their employer has the right safety process in place, according to a survey of 2,000 workers by global legal business DWF.
A quarter of workers say they may be ready to go back to work, but 18% believe it is “too soon to return”, regardless of additional safety measures.
Younger workers are the most eager to be allowed back to work, with 68% of those aged 18-24 and 58% of 25-34 year-olds ready to return “immediately.” 8% of workers aged 18-24 believe now is too soon for them to return.
The survey also finds that workers in the UK would be willing to accept a wide range of safety measures to enable a return to work, with over 69% “happy to wear” Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as masks and gloves, on public transport and in their workplace, with up to 11% unwilling to do so.
79% said they would be comfortable with their employer conducting regular temperature tests, whilst 78% would also be willing to allow their employer to conduct regular COVID-19 antigen tests. The measure attracting the least acceptance was signing up to a central government contact tracing app, but still had majority support (62%), with only 16% categorically stating that they are unwilling.
Just 4% of workers said they would be “unwilling to adhere” to social distancing at work, with 85% of respondents “happy” for their employer to adopt the measure.
