Research

At the Frontlines of the Debate on Masks: Worker Experiences Enforcing COVID-19 Safety Protocols

Researchers from UMass Amherst Labor Center’s COVID-19 Workplace Project surveyed 2,300 workers in six states about confrontations with their co-workers, managers and members of the public
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Clare Hammonds
Clare Hammonds

AMHERST, Mass. – As coronavirus rates surge, enforcing masks and social distancing policies at work continues to be a political lightning rod. While there is widespread medical consensus that masking practices reduce the spread of the virus, stories of violence against workers attempting to enforce mask mandates made headlines around the country throughout the summer of 2020. By August 2020, the Center for Disease Control released guidelines directing store employees to avoid arguing with customers who are not wearing masks for fear of provoking violence.

Now, a new research report published by Clare Hammonds and Jasmine Kerrissey of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Labor Center’s COVID-19 Workplace Project examines the experiences of workers in six states as they were asked to confront the public with mixed feelings about wearing masks and complying with other COVID-19 safety recommendations, such as social distancing.

Hammonds, professor of practice in sociology, and Kerrissey, an associate professor of sociology at UMass Amherst, previously published research in June 2020 about the experiences and fears faced by essential workers in Massachusetts during the pandemic. Their new research draws from a multi-state survey of 2,300 employees working in-person the week of July 5, which was near the height of the summer surge.

“A troubling trend we found is that employers did not have consistent policies around masks and social distancing, with some reluctant to enforce COVID practices for fear of losing business,” says Kerrissey.

Key findings from their new report include:

  • Roughly half (49%) of workers who have asked a customer or co-worker to comply with COVID policies indicated that there were issues with compliance, responding that this directive is only sometimes or rarely followed.
  • The most resistance to masks and distancing occurred in retail and hospitality industries, and towards low wage workers. Sixty percent of workers earning under $15 an hour reported compliance issues.
  • Among the six states surveyed, compliance issues were most acute in Michigan, with 56% experiencing compliance issues. They were least severe – but still substantial – in Massachusetts, with 38% experiencing compliance issues.
  • There was widespread stress among workers who were tasked with enforcing masks and social distancing protocols. “Politics and mask policy has driven customers to be furious with employees,” says a department store worker in Michigan, describing the stressful climate. “We have been threatened, spit on and screamed at due to mask policy and item purchase limits.”

“The findings in this survey have shown that it is the low wage workers, who already had to shoulder many of the health and safety risks at work during this pandemic, who will continue to face the heaviest burden as a result,” Kerrissey and Hammonds write in the report.

“Many workers reported that employers were dismissive of their concerns, and some described threats of retaliation,” says Hammonds. “For instance, a gas station cashier who spoke to his boss about unmasked customers reported that his employer made no changes, instead explaining that he ‘threatened to cut my hours down to a few a week, unless I waited on unmasked customers.’ We believe that shifting the burden of enforcement from individual workers to broad employer policies of masks and social distancing, with support from government action, is an important step in protecting workers and reducing workplace COVID-19 transmission.”

The report, “At the Frontlines of the Debate on Masks: Worker experiences enforcing COVID-19 safety protocols,” was supported by Future of Work funds from the University of Massachusetts President’s Office and is available online via the COVID-19 Workplace Project website.