The Importance of Perceived Safety in Clinician Workspaces Post-COVID 19

Abstract

The study presents the struggles healthcare workers went through during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many providers themselves were immuno-compromised, immune-deficient, and taking medications. In addition to these genuine concerns about their physical safety, they were simultaneously worried about inadvertently infecting family members and the long-term mental health effects of watching patients suffer and, in some cases, die from COVID-19. Their traumas are associated with soldiers returning home from far-flung battlefields. A quantitative method was used in this study. The data was collected through an anonymous survey. The study findings revealed that healthcare workers prefer flexible furniture design with a larger space that allows for emotional distance and efficiency; safety protocol must be included that shows the organization's care for their employees, accessible and enough resources available for the workers. Employees should place safety first to retain qualified staff, and perceived safety must be taken into consideration. Perception of safety has proven to be critical in the shape of the environments that medical staff occupy and can affect the clinical team's ability to provide quality care for patients.