Employers’ Perceptions of Costs & Benefits to Mitigate Against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Workplace: A Qualitative Study

OBJECTIVE: To explore employers' mitigation strategies against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 US employers to understand how the pandemic impacted their business operations, mitigation strategies implemented, and the utility of their emergency preparedness plans. RESULTS: Employers reported significant operational and financial challenges implementing COVID-19 mitigations including engineering and administrative controls, particularly policies around social distance, remote work, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and vaccinations. Except for healthcare organizations, most large-sized firms had emergency preparedness plans, but these lacked infectious diseases components. Many small businesses had neither emergency nor infectious disease plans. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlighted gaps in emergency preparedness among employers, particularly small businesses. Employee resistance to new policies in future epidemics may be mitigated by ongoing employee engagement and leadership support within a company's existing safety culture.