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Just 14% of workers say they trust their CEOs and senior managers to safely lead them back to work

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While cases of coronavirus continue to surge in many communities, some companies are beginning to bring workers back to the office.

But according to a recent survey, workers have their reservations. 

Public relations firm Edelman surveyed 3,400 workers in seven countries (France, Germany, India, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the U.S.) during the week of August 22 and found that 78% of workers feel businesses have a responsibility to ensure their employees are protected from getting — or spreading — the virus.

However, only 51% said they believe office spaces are safe and even fewer trusted their CEOs and senior managers to keep them safe.

Workers from India were the most likely to see office spaces as safe, with 62% saying so, followed by workers in Germany (54%) and Singapore (54%). American workers were evenly split as to whether they felt returning to work was safe. 

Courtesy of Edelman

Workers were also split on who they felt should make the ultimate decision about when workers should return to the workplace. But only 14% said they trust their CEOs and senior managers to make the right call. 

Courtesy of Edelman

In the meantime, workers reported strong confidence in their ability to work from home. Roughly three-quarters of workers said they trust working from home would not hurt their careers and 73% said they plan to work remotely for the foreseeable future. 

Courtesy of Edelman

And while some workers are hoping to get back to business as usual, others say working remotely has its perks.

"To me it sort of takes the edge off of the second shift," Laura Hamill, chief people officer and chief science officer at software company Limeade tells CNBC Make It. "I can start the dishwasher in the middle of the day or I can put out the chicken to cook for a later meal."

Raymond "RJ" Jones, president of finance and growth at eXp World Holdings, says that for him, working from home has meant "less time spent in cars," because he would typically commute an hour from Tacoma, Washington to Seattle, and "more work-life balance." 

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