ArticleThe Lancet regional health. Europe2022
Workplace contact patterns in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: Analysis of the Virus Watch prospective cohort study.
Article in The Lancet regional health. Europe, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of temporal patterns in working contacts on epidemic spread.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Comparison of Virus Watch COVID-19 Positivity, Incidence, and Hospitalization Rates With Other Surveillance Systems: Surveillance Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Article
- An investigation of the impact of 'Living with COVID' on workplace COVID-19 transmission risk, response and resilience - lessons learnt and future challenges.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Occupation and SARS-CoV-2 in Europe: a review.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2024Review
- Population Behavior Changes Underlying Phasic Shifts of SARS-CoV-2 Exposure Settings Across 3 Omicron Epidemic Waves in Hong Kong: Prospective Cohort Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- Risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection at a UK electricity-generating company: a test-negative design case-control study.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2024Article
- The incidence of COVID-19-related hospitalisation in migrants in the UK: Findings from the Virus Watch prospective community cohort study.Journal of migration and health · 2024Article
- Changing social contact patterns among US workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: April 2020 to December 2021.Epidemics · 2023Article
- Between-occupation differences in work-related COVID-19 mitigation strategies over time: Analysis of the Virus Watch Cohort in England and Wales.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2023Article
- The impact of occupational exposures on infection rates during the COVID-19 pandemic: a test-negative design study with register data of 207 034 Dutch workers.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2023Article
- Effectiveness of and Inequalities in COVID-19 Epidemic Control Strategies in Hungary: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Exploring the relationship between job characteristics and infection: Application of a COVID-19 job exposure matrix to SARS-CoV-2 infection data in the United Kingdom.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2023Article
- A Cross-Sectional Study of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies and Risk Factors for Seropositivity in Staff in Day Care Facilities and Preschools in Denmark.Microbiology spectrum · 2023Article
- COVID-19 in people aged 18-64 in Sweden in the first year of the pandemic: Key factors for severe disease and death.Global epidemiology · 2022Article
- Occupational differences in SARS-CoV-2 infection: analysis of the UK ONS COVID-19 infection survey.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2022Article
- Workplace contact patterns across occupational groups.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Workplaces are an important potential source of SARS-CoV-2 exposure; however, investigation into workplace contact patterns is lacking. This study aimed to investigate how workplace attendance and features of contact varied between occupations across the COVID-19 pandemic in England. Methods: Data were obtained from electronic contact diaries (November 2020-November 2021) submitted by employed/self-employed prospective cohort study participants ( Findings: Workplace attendance and contact patterns varied across occupations and time. The predicted probability of intense space sharing during the day was highest for healthcare (78% [95% CI: 75-81%]) and education workers (64% [59%-69%]), who also had the highest probabilities for larger numbers of close contacts (36% [32%-40%] and 38% [33%-43%] respectively). Education workers also demonstrated relatively low predicted probability (51% [44%-57%]) of wearing a face covering during close contact. Across all occupational groups, workspace sharing and close contact increased and usage of face coverings decreased during phases of less stringent restrictions. Interpretation: Major variations in workplace contact patterns and mask use likely contribute to differential COVID-19 risk. Patterns of variation by occupation and restriction phase may inform interventions for future waves of COVID-19 or other respiratory epidemics. Across occupations, increasing workplace contact and reduced face covering usage is concerning given ongoing high levels of community transmission and emergence of variants. Funding: Medical Research Council; HM Government; Wellcome Trust.
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