Variety of safety-focused options considered by employers

But fewer U.S. employers planning to make remote work a permanent option: survey

Variety of safety-focused options considered by employers
Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of U.S. employers plan to reconfigure worksites to promote physical distancing, found a survey.

As business leaders in the U.S. reopen their workplaces as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, two-thirds (64 per cent) say they’re very confident they can provide a safe working environment.

And they are considering a variety of options, according to a survey by PwC.

More than four in five (83 per cent) are planning to change workplace safety measures and requirements (up from 77 per cent two weeks earlier) and 73 per cent are planning to reconfigure worksites to promote physical distancing (up from 65 per cent two weeks earlier).

Fifty-eight per cent are looking to change shifts or alternate crews to reduce exposure, up from 52 per cent two weeks earlier, found the survey of 288 CFOs and finance leaders between May 4 and 6.

However, fewer employers (43 per cent) are planning to make remote work a permanent option for roles that allow it, down from 49 per cent two weeks prior, while 37 per cent are planning to accelerate automation and new ways of working, down from 40 per cent two weeks earlier.

A separate Robert Half study found that 79 per cent of workers normally employed in an office environment are working from home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are loving the experience.

In Canada, topping the list of new anxieties for employers at 64 per cent is managing new social distance rules when the economy reopens, according to a separate survey.

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