Wearing a mask in business: how to adapt?

Audio 01:16

Masked employees in a mega-campus for startups, in Paris, August 31.

Wearing a mask is mandatory in workspaces open since Tuesday.

REUTERS / Christian Hartmann

Text by: RFI Follow

5 mins

In France, the wearing of a mask is now systematically compulsory for employees, no longer only in the corridors but also at their workstations with the exception of individual offices.

A measure that does not always delight employees.

Report in the business district of La Défense in Paris.

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Usually Charles takes his coffee break in the upstairs corporate lounge, but today he's come down to the forecourt.

“ 

It's a disaster, it's unbearable.

From time to time I come to take the air with my fellow smokers, it allows me to pretend to smoke and enjoy 5 minutes of fresh air.

But that's all. 

"

To succeed in breathing a little better while being masked, Nathalie, an insurance employee, has her technique: “ 

The masks are provided by the company, so they are washable masks, we have an endowment of 20 masks.

But honestly I don't use them indoors because

it's a little more stuffy, so I use surgical masks instead. 

"

To read also: France: wearing of the mask "systematized" in business at the start of the school year

At lunch, the mask must be removed, so to guarantee the health safety of its employees, Cédric's company has reviewed its organization: “ 

There are time slots that are provided for lunch breaks so everything is organized so that 'there is both a fluidity at the level of the elevators, at the level of the common passage areas and therefore at the level of the company restaurant as well. 

"

And for those recalcitrant of the mask, telework remains: " 

Tomorrow, I will be at home without a mask and we have an organization like that with schedules which are made so that upstairs there are 50% of people who are there. . 

"

Coming into force on Monday, the wearing of a mask in a company should be able to be adapted according to the sectors, on a case by case basis, in consultation with the social partners.

► To read also: France: the new health rules for the start of the school year

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  • France

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