Study Shows Masks are Pivotal When Social Distancing is Not Possible

SAN FRANCISCO—With the news that Google is going remote until mid-2021, sensor data and research from VergeSense examines how employee social distancing in the office has differed across five continents since the onset of COVID-19. Specifically, the research examines average employee distancing and the rate of coworker interactions under the recommended 6 feet across VergeSense’s sensor install base (Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and Africa) from May to June.

The research provides findings across 20 million square feet of global office space. Here are some highlights:

While most would likely believe there is a general lack of distancing in offices across the US/North America versus Asia given the current epidemic levels here, the opposite is true. Asia has the least distancing between employees in the office, while North America had the greatest. Asian offices also have the highest rate of interactions of less than 6 feet, while North American offices have the lowest rate of these interactions.

This also typically proved true on a city-by-city level. For instance, in Kuala Lumpur, the average distance between employees in shared spaces was 0.68 meters. Comparatively, in San Francisco/San Jose, the average distance between employees in shared spaces was 1.02 meters or roughly 3 feet 4 inches. However, this data illustrates that even for those going back into the office in the Bay Area, a fourth of workforces are running into issues with not being able to social distance appropriately (1.02 meter average employee distance being far less than the 6 feet/1.8 meters recommended by CDC).

Masks may be the primary reason why distancing is closer in Asia, meaning employees feel safer getting close to each other. This is why closer distancing within indoor environments/workplaces (where the majority of transmissions appear to occur) hasn’t led to further outbreaks there.

Many of the Fortune 1000 companies VergeSense works with in Asia either mandate or readily provide masks and face shields for all employees. Furthermore, in some Asian countries, mask use in the workplace is even mandated by the government on a national level.

“Although it’s clear that government and corporate policies are driving regional differences in how employees distance in the workplace, it’s important to note that no region had employee distancing averages that were greater than the recommended 6 feet or 1.8 meters by global health authorities,” Dan Ryan, CEO and co-founder of VergeSense, tells GlobeSt.com. “Therefore, it’s not surprising to hear that a company like Google is choosing to extend its remote work policies. Our findings highlight that it’s inherently difficult for employees across the globe to avoid clustering in the workplace, and companies need to monitor and continuously reassess their workplace re-entry strategies because of this.”

North America has the lowest rate of interactions within 1.8 meters. However, it’s worth noting that this number still hovers around 60% in the US, meaning that more than half of the interactions between employees are still occurring under the recommended CDC distancing guidelines.

VergeSense’s past research has indicated that clustering within the workplace can be inherent and simply closing small conference rooms and opening larger ones will not necessarily ensure proper social distancing. Therefore, masks could continue to be pivotal in controlling potential transmission in instances when social distancing is not possible.

According to a recent survey by McKinsey, while the vast majority of the US population says they are wearing a mask at least once a week to comply with state or local guidelines for grocery stores and retail outlets, only slightly more than 40% say they are commonly wearing a mask in office buildings.

Comparatively in those countries that have contained COVID-19 far better than the US such as Japan, mask-wearing is nearly constant. One reason for that might be that mask-wearing has long been customary in those areas for purposes such as containing transmission of colds as well as allergies or pollution barriers. That familiarity with masks has led to a higher percentage of the population using masks in almost any shared space. YouGov, a British polling firm, found that 86% of Japanese wore masks in public spaces in response to COVID-19. That compares with 82% of the population in China and 71% in the United States.

“With employee distancing top of mind and a lower percentage of workforces coming into the office each day, we’re also seeing more organizations shifting to flexible seating or reservable desks,” Ryan tells GlobeSt.com. “Before COVID-19, this practice of ‘hot-desking’ was somewhat limited in large corporate settings. Now Fortune 500 companies are utilizing this approach across their global real estate portfolios to provide employees with adequately spaced and sanitized workplaces on-demand. This focused, shared desk approach enables real-time desk utilization visibility, so executives can monitor how each desk is occupied and spaced, while optimizing cleaning and even determining the ideal desk-sharing ratios in the process.”

This workplace sensor data is used by companies such as Autodesk, JLL, Cisco, BP, Quicken Loans, Royal Dutch Shell, the Royal Bank of Canada and Roche to guide office return plans.