Masks are not very effective, but they are cheap and easy, so they’re probably worth it. It is probably sufficient to recommend them without mandating them.
Sadly, it doesn’t work like this. You can say “yes” to the masks, but then your boss says “no”… and you either remove the mask or lose your job. And the bosses will say “no” for all kinds of reasons; maybe they are antivaxers, or maybe some Karen complained about feeling uncomfortable not seeing your face.
This seems like a fully general argument against optional things.
Do you have estimates of the rate at which that happens (and subsequent harms), vs people who don’t want to wear masks being forced to do so (and subsequent harms)?
It is a general argument against workplace safety being optional. And we already have many regulations against traditional dangers in various jobs. The difference is that covid is new.
Do you have estimates of the rate at which that happens (and subsequent harms), vs people who don’t want to wear masks being forced to do so (and subsequent harms)?
I can’t provide high-quality estimates, only anecdotal evidence. Calculating harm would also be difficult, because a lot of it is indirect. For example, for me the greatest worry about getting covid was not that I would die of it, but that I would unknowingly infect my old relatives with whom I am in frequent contact.
Intuitively, “killing my mother” feels more important than “the mask is annoying”. But this is speaking from the position of work-from-home privilege. If I instead had to wear a mask 8 hours a day, every day, I would probably either find some rationalization, or reduce the contact with my mother to phone calls and leaving the groceries in front of her house.
I don’t think it’s fully general. Masks cover your face. Vaccines are invisible. If vaccines are optional, people can get them and they won’t impact daily job performance. Masks will.
Sadly, it doesn’t work like this. You can say “yes” to the masks, but then your boss says “no”… and you either remove the mask or lose your job. And the bosses will say “no” for all kinds of reasons; maybe they are antivaxers, or maybe some Karen complained about feeling uncomfortable not seeing your face.
This seems like a fully general argument against optional things.
Do you have estimates of the rate at which that happens (and subsequent harms), vs people who don’t want to wear masks being forced to do so (and subsequent harms)?
It is a general argument against workplace safety being optional. And we already have many regulations against traditional dangers in various jobs. The difference is that covid is new.
I can’t provide high-quality estimates, only anecdotal evidence. Calculating harm would also be difficult, because a lot of it is indirect. For example, for me the greatest worry about getting covid was not that I would die of it, but that I would unknowingly infect my old relatives with whom I am in frequent contact.
Intuitively, “killing my mother” feels more important than “the mask is annoying”. But this is speaking from the position of work-from-home privilege. If I instead had to wear a mask 8 hours a day, every day, I would probably either find some rationalization, or reduce the contact with my mother to phone calls and leaving the groceries in front of her house.
I don’t think it’s fully general. Masks cover your face. Vaccines are invisible. If vaccines are optional, people can get them and they won’t impact daily job performance. Masks will.