Is It Safe to Go Back to the Office?

• Limits on how many people may be in an elevator at one time

• Improving the airflow through the office, either by opening windows or modifying the air-conditioning/heating system

• Closing off common areas to prevent workers from gathering

• Masks worn as much as possible

• Prohibiting handshakes, hugs and fist bumps, among other recommendations

Right now, these office guidelines are not mandatory across the nation, with each state and employer left to decide whether to implement them in part or whole.

"It's a real patchwork out there in the United States,” says Debbie Berkowitz, worker health and safety director for the National Employment Law Project, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of workers. “But if you're going to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the community, you have to make sure you're mitigating the spread of the disease in the workplace. You don't want people to get it at work and then spread it back out into the community."

Some older workers worry

There is evidence to suggest that older workers are concerned about coming back into the office. Qualtrics, a company that helps employers measure their workers’ satisfaction, in late April found that 7 in 10 people 55 and older were concerned about the possibility of returning to work.

Complicating matters, not every older adult is in a job in which he or she can work from home. According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, roughly 55 percent of older workers are not able to telecommute. “Given that low-paid workers are less likely to be in occupations where they can work remotely, the opening up of the economy means that they will face either the health risk of returning to work before the virus is under control or the economic risk of exhausting their resources,” says Anqi Chen, an assistant director at the Center for Retirement Research.

There's also the question of paid sick leave. Workers who can't afford to take time off if they're ill might pose health hazards to their coworkers and clients. According to the Pew Research Center, 24 percent of civilian workers in the U.S. did not get paid sick leave at their jobs before the pandemic. Federal legislation enacted in response to the COVID-19 outbreak does provide paid sick leave to more workers, but that legislation does not cover all employers and expires at the end of the year.

Open dialogue is critical

Employers will need to maintain a dialogue with older employees about how safe they feel in the office environment, experts say. Employers “recognize that they're going to have to really allay the concerns,” AIHA's Sloan says. “Workers, particularly those age 50 and over, should be very conversant with their employers.” (Learn more about workers’ rights during the pandemic.)

"It's important that employers must allow workers to express concerns, to raise concerns and then to address those concerns,” Berkowitz adds.

What those concerns ultimately may be will depend on how job duties and relationships may change as more people go back to work in office environments that have been reshaped by the pandemic. One thing that is certain is that employees of all ages will need to be more aware of the impact their decisions may have on their own health and that of their coworkers.

"Everybody's going to have a different level of comfort,” Sloan says. “So, you're going to see some people who are going to exercise additional caution when they're in the physical office space more than others. But at the very least, whatever guidelines the employer is recommending or requiring to be adopted, everybody should comply with the bare minimum."