Two-thirds will continue wearing face masks at work

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More than two-thirds of employees plan to continue wearing face masks at work to limit the spread of Covid-19, despite mask-wearing no longer being a legal requirement in some settings.

Some 67% said they would choose to keep wearing face coverings in the workplace, the survey by software firm CIPHR found.

The desire for mask wearing to continue extended to most indoor public settings too, particularly among those who have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccination (49% compared with 39% of all workers).

More than three-quarters (77%) of people surveyed by CIPHR in July 2021 had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccination and 53% were fully vaccinated. Ten per cent said they would not be getting a jab out of personal choice and 2% had a medical exemption.

A gradual return to workplaces is expected over the summer after months of pandemic-related restrictions and advice to work from home, but a fifth of those surveyed expressed some reservations. Sixteen per cent were anxious or concerned about returning to the office, while 4% said they were dreading it, the survey of 1,016 people found.

Employees who were happiest about returning to the workplace were more likely to work for employers that had implemented changes to help support physical and mental health, such as improved workplace ventilation (37%), training and development related to Covid-19 (30%), wellbeing support (27%), and requiring evidence of a negative Covid-19 test (24%).

The workers feeling anxi