Two thirds of employees anxious about returning to work

Bupa study suggests

Two thirds of employees anxious about returning to work
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Bupa Health Clinics launches ‘Assess Me, Test Me and Check Me’ for businesses helping staff

As many as 65% of people in the UK are anxious about returning to their office, a study of 2000 adults commissioned by Bupa Health Clinics has found.

The most common concern was around social distancing within office spaces - which was reported by 46% of those surveyed.

Elsewhere, the potential spread of infection while commuting and worries about the office not being clean enough, also ranked highly on the list of concerns

The research also revealed that more than a third said they do not want to return to their ways of working prior to lockdown and 40% admitted they would judge their colleagues who come to work with a cold.

Bupa Health Clinics has launched Assess Me, Test Me and Check Me to allow businesses to risk assess their employees, test them for the virus and conduct temperature checks in the office.

Alaana Linney, commercial director at Bupa Health Clinics, said "The covid-19 pandemic has impacted us all, individually and as an employee. It has closed offices and workplaces across the country and forced companies to move their employees to full-time remote working.

"As we move into the next phase and start to think about returning to the office, it's important that businesses put procedures in place to support their staff to feel safe when returning to work and reducing the anxiety that comes with it.

"No-one is sure what the ‘new normal' will look like but it's time to think about what we've learnt from the pandemic and implement new ways of working to support staff moving forward."

Alaana Linney outlines her tips for businesses to support a safe return to work:

  1. Introduce new policies

"If you don't have policies in place to support flexible working or allow employees to work from home, now is the time to introduce them. Our results show that employees want to continue some of their new working practices, and this is something businesses will need to consider moving out of the pandemic.

"It is also a simple way to reduce anxiety. If employees need to commute using public transport, allow them work flexible hours so they are traveling at different times and avoiding busy periods."

  1. Educate yourself

"Making sure you and your teams are properly prepared for the return to work is really important to help reduce anxiety amongst staff. Managers' guides need to be introduced for different scenarios the virus has caused. These should include supporting with bereavement and mental health issues. Listen to your employees and understand their different needs.

"Throughout the pandemic, we've created a number of different materials to aid employees working at home and to help them feel comfortable going back to their normal place of work. Our checklist provides employers with an easy to use tool to assist with return-to-work procedures."

  1. Provide access to services

"Now more than ever people are aware of their physical and mental health and wellbeing and need provisions in place to accommodate that. Whether this is access to an employee assistance programme (EAP), virtual GP services or annual flu jabs, employees need to know that they have services in place to support them and their families."

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