Workers Returning to the Office Soon Become More Optimistic About COVID-19 Safety, Say U-M Experts

As the workforce shifts back to in-person, researchers find that employees closest to returning to the office tend to downplay the risks of getting a COVID-19 infection. Yeşim Orhun, associate professor of marketing at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, discusses the new study and “motivated optimism” – a phenomenon where employees downplay future risks to manage current anxieties.