About a month into the coronavirus crisis, a guest entered the White House West Wing reception area for an appointment with then-top aide Jared Kushner. When the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump appeared, the man put out his hand to shake, but Kushner offered his elbow instead.
“This is how we do it now,” Kushner said.
Some 16 months later and as the crisis has eased, people still don’t know how to greet each other.
The latest Washington-based back-to-normal survey shared with Secrets found that 65% continue to find it awkward when meeting people and are unclear on whether shaking hands is sanitary.
“Shaking hands is a normal part of life, and many people are still adjusting to it because they have been told to stay away from others for so long now. It may take a little more time for folks to get used to this again, but it’s also likely that people will be washing their hands more frequently now as well,” said Ron Bonjean, a founding partner at Washington’s ROKK Solutions.
“Lack of clarity and a desire to be in control of one’s situation have been persistent themes throughout our past 14 months of pandemic tracking research,” added Jon Last, the president of Sports and Leisure Research Group, which conducted the survey with ROKK Solutions and Engagious.
