Making masks work: 3 challenges for employers

While face masks have become the new norm in many workplaces to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19, organizations need to mindfully manage the unintended costs that masks can create when it comes to people’s working relationships. So, how can you help workers continue to feel safe and connected with each other while wearing facial masks?

3 challenges to plan for when it comes to wearing masks

New research by The Wellbeing Lab and George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Wellbeing suggests that only 21.6% of American workers feel positive about heading back to their offices with many citing fear for their health, there are three challenges that workplaces need to talking about and planning around when it comes to wearing masks.

1. Inability to read facial expressions

Firstly, facial expressions are one of the more important aspects of human communication. For example, being able to read other people’s facial emotions has been found to aid the development of rapport and trust and give us better information about people’s emotional states that helps to reduce misunderstandings and provides a basis for better cooperation and harmonious functioning in groups.

Facial masks remove many of these important visual prompts, leaving our eyes to carry the weight of non-verbal communication. Unfortunately, studies have found that even those of us who have been trained to read people’s emotions are generally no more reliable at interpreting these expressions than randomly flipping a coin and guessing.

This means that it is essential that workplaces normalize the challenges people may encounter when it comes to understanding and connecting with each other behind face masks.

Rather than becoming frustrated or feeling isolated from each other as a result of this experience, this can be a great opportunity to encourage workers to get curious and ask questions about what others are thinking and feeling, rather than relying on their limited powers to mind read.

2. Difficulty hearing and speaking clearly

Secondly, communicating through a mask can make it difficult to hear each other and to have meaningful conversations with each other. For example, masks not only reduce our natural ability to read lips and use visual cues to aid hearing, but they also muffle and distort speech information and degrade the volume and tone of people’s voices making our brains work overtime to keep up with conversations and creating listening fatigue.

This means that it is essential that workplaces give people permission to slow down as they are communicating with each other, make it psychologically safe to ask what we often fear are ‘dumb questions’ to clarify what we are hearing, and be mindful of the duration of conversations when masks are being worn.

Rather than becoming worn out and feeling disconnected from each other as a result of this experience, this can be a great opportunity to encourage workers to practice the skills of active listening and to prioritize the expression of care, concern and appreciation for each other.

3. Physical/mental risks to special populations

Finally, for some workers the experience of wearing a mask can pose a physical and/or mental health risk. For example, simply wearing a mask can put some people at risk of an asthma attack while people with autism who are generally highly sensitive to touch can heighten their levels of anxiety and distress.

This means that it is essential that workplaces don’t create a climate of judgement and shame around people’s willingness and ability to wear masks.

While workplaces may feel the need to mandate masks for everyone’s safety it is also important to acknowledge that some workers may require flexibility and provide guidelines to support mask breaks or mask alternatives to meet these workers’ needs.

Louis Alloro (MAPP) helps workplaces build their psychological muscles and create positive change. Louis is a senior fellow at the Center for the Advancement of Wellbeing, co-founder of The Change Lab, and a social entrepreneur who designs and delivers highly sought after, evidence-based learning experiences for teams around the world.