Work Attendance during Acute Respiratory Illness Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, United States, 2018-2022

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza viruses can be transmitted by infected persons who are pre-symptomatic or symptomatic. To assess impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work attendance during illness, we analyzed prospectively collected data from persons with acute respiratory illness (ARI) enrolled in a multi-state study during 2018-2022. Persons with prior experience working from home were significantly less likely than those without this experience to work onsite on the day before illness and during the first 3 days of illness; the effect was more pronounced for the COVID-19 pandemic period than the pre-pandemic influenza seasons. Persons with influenza or COVID-19 were significantly less likely to work onsite than persons with other ARIs. Among persons for whom positive COVID-19 test results were available by the second or third day of illness, few worked onsite. Work-from-home policies may reduce the likelihood of workplace exposures to respiratory viruses. Articles summary lineWork-from-home policies may reduce the likelihood of workplace exposures to SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses.