that of the public at large: Two-thirds of workers say they expect infections to increase a great deal (26%) or a moderate amount (43%).
Roughly a quarter think the infection rate will remain about the same, while only 6% think it will decrease to any extent.The poll, which was conducted before booster shots designed to target the omicron-specific variants became available, finds that a slight majority of workers are very (18%) or moderately (36%) worried about new strains of COVID-19 spreading.
Less than half are very (5%) or moderately (39%) confident that COVID-19 vaccines will protect people from newer variants of the virus.There is virtually no difference in concern about exposure to COVID-19 at work between younger and older employees, but working women continue to worry significantly more than working men -- 41% vs.
26%, respectively. This mirrors society-wide gender gaps in concern about the coronavirus seen throughout the pandemic.Party affiliation is also a strong predictor of employee attitudes about the risk of exposure to COVID-19 at work.