Skip to main content
Facilitate Magazine: Informing Workplace and Facilities Management Professionals - return to the homepage Facilitate magazine logo
  • Search
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @Facilitate_Mag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management Logo of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
    • Comment
    • People
    • Reports
    • Research
  • Features
    • Analysis
    • Features
    • Round Tables
    • Webinars
  • Outsourcing
    • Contract Finder
    • Contracts
    • FM Business Models
    • Interviews
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Opinion
    • Procurement
    • Trends
  • Know-How
    • Explainers
    • Legal Updates
    • White Papers
  • Jobs
  • Topics
    • Workplace Services
      • Hospitality
      • Catering
      • Cleaning
      • Front of House
      • Grounds Maintenance
      • Helpdesk
      • Mailroom
      • Manned Guarding / Security
      • Pest Control
      • Washroom Services
      • Disaster Recovery
      • Specialist Services
    • Professional Performance
      • Behavioural Change
      • Continual Professional Development
      • Education
      • Management
      • Recruitment
      • Training
    • Workplace Performance
      • Benchmarking
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Operational Readiness
      • Procurement
      • Security
      • Workplace User Experience
      • Workplace Culture
    • Compliance
      • Health & Safety
      • Risk & Business Continuity
      • Standards
      • Statutory Compliance
    • Building Services
      • Architecture & Construction
      • Asset Management
      • Building Controls
      • Building Fabric
      • Drinking Water
      • Fire Protection
      • HVAC
      • Landscaping
      • Mechanical & Electrical
      • Building Security
      • Water, Drainage & Plumbing
    • Technology
      • Building Information Modelling
      • CAFM
      • Data & Networks
      • Document Management
      • Information Management
      • Internet of Things (IoT)
      • Software & Systems
    • Energy management
      • Energy Management Systems
      • Electricity
      • Gas
      • Solar
      • Wind
    • Sustainability
      • Environmental Quality
      • Social Value
      • Waste Management
      • Recycling
    • Workspace Design
      • Agile Working
      • Fit-Out & Refurbishment
      • Inclusive Access
      • Lighting
      • Office Interiors
      • Signage
      • Space Planning
      • Storage
      • Vehicle Management / Parking
      • Washroom
    • Sectors
      • Corporate Office
      • Education
      • Healthcare
      • Manufacturing
      • International
      • Retail
      • Sports & Leisure
      • Regions
  • Buyers' Guide
Quick links:
  • Home
  • News

30% of workers claim they may refuse to go back to work unless employers provide assurances on air quality

Open-access content Monday 29th March 2021
Authors
Herpreet Kaur Grewal
web_working-from-home_iStock-602307524.jpg

Many employees have reservations about returning to the workplace – iStock

More than one in four (26 per cent) Britons are worried about airborne transmission, according to research by services group, Rentokil Initial.

This figure is a 19 per cent increase from when Rentokil Initial conducted the same survey back in November 2020. 

Contact with other people, for example, when social distancing is breached, remains the most concerning route for transmission, cited by half the population. 

The poll of 2,000 adults also found that the majority (52 per cent) of Brits remain worried that life will never go back to normal, the same percentage as recorded previously.

Last year the World Health Organisation updated its guidance to say that coronavirus could be transmitted via aerosols in the air, and this ‘air to person’ transmission route has been widely covered in the news and is clearly affecting public attitudes.

Two-thirds (68 per cent) of those surveyed said they believe businesses and employers should do more to ensure that they provide clean air in the premises (up from 65 per cent in November 2020), while 62 per cent of respondents went so far as to say that air purification systems should be mandatory in public buildings and education facilities (up from 59 per cent). Nearly one-third (30 per cent) of workers said they won’t go back to work unless their employer assures them of the building’s indoor air quality.

Heading towards 12th April and the first proposed step in the relaxation of lockdown measures for the retail and hospitality sectors in England, concerns about socialising indoors appear to be heightened. The three activities that concern the public the most post-lockdown are: using public transport (36 per cent), socialising indoors (31 per cent) and drinking indoors at bars or pubs (29 per cent).

Jamie Woodhall, UK technical and innovation manager, Rentokil Initial, said: “These survey results show that tackling air quality and preventing the airborne spread of coronavirus clearly remains an important challenge, alongside the vaccine rollout.

“The scientific evidence continues to build and it is very clear how important good ventilation and air purification is within indoor spaces. When it comes to easing of lockdown measures, the expectation from the public is that businesses and employers need to do their bit in helping to ensure that they are providing clean air, so that the risk of catching an airborne virus indoors is reduced."

Separately,  technology firm Infogrid published its report Creating a Healthy Workplace, which surveyed 2,000 UK employees to understand how they feel about returning to the workplace as the next phase of lockdown easing begins.

It found that 50 per cent of employees are concerned about returning to the physical workplace. Yet, 48 per cent of those that expect to return to the office believe they will be back before July 2021. A further 16 per cent have already returned to the workplace in some capacity.

Of those who aren’t concerned, 60 per cent said it was because their employer had made their workplace safe. This factor was more important to employees than the vaccine rollout (54 per cent). Employees said regular cleaning has the biggest impact on how safe they feel to return to the office (73 per cent). Other popular measures included limiting the number of people in spaces (69 per cent), and improved air quality to reduce the spread of Covid-19 (61 per cent).

William Cowell de Gruchy, CEO of Infogrid, said: “This research shows that businesses have to accept that their employees have reservations about returning to the workplace. Organisations need to take action now to prepare the workplace. Not only to make their employees feel safe but to safeguard their ongoing welfare. Employees are now more conscious than ever of how their workplace impacts their wellbeing.”

Image credit | iStock
Filed in:
News

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Today's top reads

 

Latest Jobs

Project Leader (Maternity Cover One Year Contract)

Cambridge
Circa £50,000 Pro Rata + Benefits & Opportunities
Reference
56378

Maintenance Supervisor

Surrey
Up to £43,000 + Excellent Package & Opportunities
Reference
56376

Regional Facilities Manager

South West England
Circa £40,000 + Benefits & Opportunities
Reference
56375
See all jobs »

 

 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to print

Sign up to receive our bi-monthly magazine

Subscribe
Facilitate magazine cover, June 2020
​
FOLLOW US
@Facilitate_Mag
Facilitate Magazine
Facilitate Magazine
CONTACT US
Contact us
Tel: 020 7880 6200
​

IWFM

About IWFM
Become a member
Qualifications
Events

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to Facilitate Magazine
Write for Facilitate Magazine

General

IWFM Jobs
Help

© 2022 • www.facilitatemagazine.com and Facilitate Magazine are published by Redactive Media Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ