Almost half concerned about COVID-19 exposure at work: poll

Nearly half of the Americans questioned in a new survey said they are concerned about the prospect of being exposed to novel coronavirus as they return to work.

The Gallup poll released Monday found that 13 percent of American workers said they are very concerned, while 33 percent are moderately concerned. By comparison, 29 percent are not too concerned and 25 percent are not at all concerned.

The survey also found that 25 percent of workers “strongly agree” that they can safely return to work at this point while 20 percent “strongly disagree.”

Gallup found 23 percent of respondents said the virus has had a very negative effect on their workplace, compared to 50 percent who said it had a somewhat negative effect.

When surveyed on safety precautions their employer is taking as workers return, 69 percent said their employer is “always” taking the precaution of new or more frequent cleaning procedures, while 58 percent said their employer is always providing equipment such as gloves and masks and 54 percent said employers are having workers keep six feet of distance from each other.

Meanwhile, 41 percent said their employers always screen workers for symptoms such as coughs or fever, according to Gallup.

The percentage of employers surveyed who said all or nearly all workers have returned to the physical workplace — 33 percent — is also up from April, when only 28 percent of employers said that was the case. Nineteen percent said “some” employees returned in May, compared to 17 percent between April 13 and May 13.

Gallup surveyed a random sample of 1,914 U.S. adults between May 25 and May 31. Its new poll has a 5-percentage-point margin of error for individual sample results and higher margins for subgroups.