Although isolation rules have now changed, many UK professionals don’t want to see the end of all restrictions.
That is according to new research from CV-Library, who have found that 70 per cent of employees would prefer for the rules to continue, despite their lifting yesterday.
From Monday 16 August, people who are double jabbed were no longer legally required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case.
This means that the majority of adults should never have to self-isolate again, with over three quarters (75 per cent) having received both doses of the vaccine.
Rather than self-isolating, double jabbed individuals will now be advised to take a PCR test to check if they have the virus, and on this basis, isolation can be avoided.
This suggests that the ‘pingdemic’ that swept the nation earlier this month is drawing to a close.
Many employees are not ready for isolation rules to change, with almost three quarter of respondents stating that they want rules such as continuing to wear masks to stay in place, despite official guidance changing.
The survey also found that despite the continued number of COVID-19 cases and the chaos of the ‘pingdemic’, four in five (82 per cent) do feel comfortable being in the workplace at present.
The survey suggests that, whilst UK professionals are apprehensive about the relaxing of restrictions, employers can make them feel more comfortable by maintaining some level of COVID rules within the workplace, even as official guidance changes.
Measures that could remain in place are maintaing social distancing, encouraging employees to wear masks in crowded areas, and consciousness about airflow.
Many may also like to see COVID secure risk assessments upheld and implemented.
Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, said:
These are unprecedented times and there is no rule book, but the choices business owners make after the 16th of August will have significant and wider repercussions.
We all know from experience that feeling comfortable in the workplace is paramount and businesses need to listen to their staff. After all, with job postings at record levels and staff shortages in many sectors, candidates are in a strong position with plenty of alternative choices.
*In order to obtain this research, CV-Library surveyed 2,000 UK professionals.
Megan McElroy is a second year English Literature student at the University of Warwick. As Editorial Intern for HRreview, her interests include employment law and public policy. In relation to her degree, her favourite areas of study include Small Press Publishing and political poetry.
