Drop the masks.
The company health protocol will no longer apply from Monday March 14, Labor Minister Élisabeth Borne announced Tuesday morning on LCI.
This announcement marks the end of the protocol applied since the spring of 2020 and readjusted several times according to the evolution of the epidemic situation.
Read alsoCovid-19: end of the corporate health protocol on March 14
“
We are going to resume normal business rules
,” said the minister.
This concretely means the end of the mandatory indoor mask, social distancing rules and government recommendations on teleworking, even if companies remain free to maintain certain measures.
General relief
In companies, the announcement of the Minister of Labor has often been received with great relief.
The end of the health protocol seems to announce the release of a trying sequence, long of more than two years.
“
It gives the feeling that we are coming out of the Covid, that the epidemic is no longer so much on the agenda, that all of that is behind us, and that feels good
”, rejoices Tristan, 26, who works as an analyst in a Paris polling firm.
At all levels of the company, we welcome the end of a situation that made life in the office inconvenient.
“
It's a relief
.
It was really expected by the employees
, “said Benoît Serre, vice-president of the National Association of HRDs (ANDRH), the main federation of human resources professionals in France.
“
We have the feeling of coming out of a long tunnel and we hope that this is really the end.
The protocol put a lot of pressure on companies and employees, with certain psychological risks.
We are happy to be back to normal functioning
, ”he says.
The mask, a whole symbol
Since the announcement on Tuesday morning and after two years of professional life behind masks, plexiglass and screens, we are almost stamping our feet.
It is the mask, emblematic object of health constraints, that employees seem to want to leave with the most haste.
According to Benoît Serre, an idea has occupied the minds of the workers since the announcement on Tuesday morning: “
Only a week left, and we're taking it away!
".
“
In certain meetings where we exchange a lot, we really need to see the faces
”, testifies Mathilde *, young consultant in a strategy consulting firm, before adding: “
It will be much simpler without the masks.
I'm super happy!
".
“
Even on the phone, it is sometimes difficult to be intelligible.
It's also a big constraint when you're alone to feel comfortable, to breathe well, ”
adds Tristan, very enthusiastic at the idea of being able to get rid of it definitively.
The end of a "hypocrisy"
Nelly, a receptionist in a town hall in Ille-et-Vilaine, is also pleased to be able to "
find people's faces, their expressions and better communication
".
However, she fears catching the Covid at her workplace in the absence of masks in town halls from March 14.
“I hope the plexis will stay.
Let's say that by working at reception, you see people.
We are seated, a little below, so we can receive sputters.
There is also still a little apprehension,”
she confides, torn between a little worry and a lot of relief.
Read alsoCovid-19: Macron sets the end of the vaccination pass on March 14, the mask remains compulsory in transport
In his town hall, the health rules are strictly observed.
But in other professional circles, some have already freed themselves from some of the restrictions by choice or by weariness.
“
We haven't worn a mask in the workplace for a while.
We had allowed ourselves to withdraw it.
There are a small number of people there, only four to five.
For the removal of the mask, we have already established a general consent on the basis of triple vaccination and respect for quarantine in the event of a positive test or contact case.
We don't receive an audience, that's why we allow ourselves
”, recognizes Flora *, in charge of public relations in an NGO based in Paris.
In Tristan's company, respect for distancing and wearing a mask is just as variable.
The end of the protocol is also the end of hypocrisy,”
he concludes.
(*) These names have been changed
