
How can organizations help people feel safe?
As sensory creatures, we look for signs we can see, smell, hear, and feel.
of customers still want control of cleaning and look to companies to provide sanitation items
of customers want contactless car rental pickup and returns; 24% of them want this to be permanent
of frontline hotel employees want a daily report of cleaning activities
The three elements of safety
Our safety and cleanliness survey uncovered three elements that companies should prioritize to rebuild trust and enhance the safety experience:
- Safety essentials: The “basics,” such as wearing masks, providing hand sanitizer, and cleaning surfaces regularly
- Dialed-up control: Customers and employees want choices to help them take control of their experiences
- Heightened transparency: Using the right activities (tangible vs. intangible, seen vs. unseen) at the right time
Safety you can sense
Humans look for tangible signals that they can conspicuously sense to help them make a judgment on how safe they perceive a situation to be.

Environmental context (indoor or outdoor)

Visual density and volume of other people

Amount of time spent in a single location

Visible physical changes (e.g. plexiglass barriers)

Perceived ventilation quality

Smell of environment
Safety for employees
In a survey of 3,000 employees, three patterns stood out when thinking about the return to work:
- They predominantly prefer to work remotely
- They desire frequent and relevant communication, specifically around the precautions taken for their health
- They want agency to access information, make decisions for themselves, and engage in a digital experience
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Safety and cleanliness–make it or break it.
Open for business: What employers need to know and do to bring employees back to work