‘People are so burned out’: US essential workers struggle as restrictions lifted - The Guardian

Workers who were deemed essential during the coronavirus pandemic and publicly praised for continuing to work in-person are now fighting for permanent improvements to working conditions, wages and benefits as safety protections are lifted and they still grapple with the impact of working through the long crisis.

Millions of essential workers contracted Covid-19 while working through the pandemic.

Now, as Covid-19 restrictions have lifted across swaths of America and the economy has come back to life, many essential workers are still fearful for their safety and angry at their working conditions.

Through the pandemic, Vega explained she constantly worried about getting sick, her family members getting sick, and on a regular basis struggled to deal with customers who refused to follow coronavirus safety guidelines such as mask wearing and social distancing.

Around one-third of US adults identified as being essential workers during the pandemic, and these workers reported increased rates of mental health issues caused by working in-person through the pandemic, such as increased rates of anxiety, depression, stress, suicidal thoughts, insomnia and burnout.

Despite the risks and impacts essential workers experienced through the pandemic, most employers that did offer a hazard pay increase only did so temporarily.

About half of all workers in low-wage occupations were deemed essential during the pandemic, with an estimated 22.3 million essential workers in occupations with median wages below $15 an hour.

In recent months, coronavirus safety protections, such as mask mandates, have been scaled back, while workers who were deemed essential throughout the pandemic are expected to work as normal with little to no change in how they are treated in the workplace.