Organisational safety is paramount amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and transparent communication plays a critical role cites a recent global survey from Kronos Incorporated. Conducted in conjunction with Workplace Intelligence, the study finds that Indian workers underline safe commute to work (72 per cent) and overall workplace sanitation and cleanliness (56 per cent) as the primary risks involved in returning to work over the next 18 months. What is promising is that 55 per cent of Indian employees believe that their employer has created a physically safe and healthy workplace environment.
The survey, conducted by Workplace Intelligence on behalf of Kronos among nearly 4,000 employed adults across Australia and New Zealand, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Netherlands, the U.K., and the U.S, helps debunk a global misconception around COVID-19 contact tracing that suggests employee privacy concerns outweigh safety concerns. In fact, the vast majority of employees surveyed globally (86 per cent) are comfortable to varying degrees with employer-led contact tracing, which, combined with education and transparent communication, may be the key to setting a risk-adverse workforce at ease. It’s a similar insight that India provides, as Indian employees rate workplace safety and safe commute as the biggest concerns.
News Facts
· As Indian organisations are re-opening through staggered shifts, employee concerns must be addressed.
o Nearly 3 out of 4 Indian employees (72 per cent) currently working from home due to COVID-19 do not want to risk returning to their workplace due to concerns around commuting safely to work.
o Moreover, 56 per cent of Indian employees are concerned about overall workplace sanitation and cleanliness, whereas 42 per cent consider using shared workspaces such as conference rooms a bigger challenge that can lead to the contagion spreading.
o Furthermore, the survey highlights that Indian workers (37 per cent) doubt the accuracy with which employee or guest temperatures are taken at workplaces
o From a person-to-person contact perspective, nearly half of Indian employees (49 per cent) are concerned about encountering an asymptomatic coworker or visitor, with 58 per cent having concerns with their company’s ability to react quickly to presumed or confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in the workplace.
· In workplaces around the world, expectations from the workforce are high for employers to create environments that are as safe as possible.
o Globally, 3 in 4 employees (75 per cent) say they trust their employer to create a physically safe and healthy work environment. In India, though, that is slightly lower, as just more than half of employees (55 per cent) strongly agree with that sentiment.
o Trust extends to contact tracing at work: 86 per cent of employees worldwide are at least “a little” comfortable with contact tracing led by their employer for the purpose of organisational safety. In fact, nearly half (45 per cent) are “very” or “a great deal” comfortable, while just 29 per cent and 12 per cent are either “somewhat” or “a little” comfortable, respectively, with employer-led contact tracing.