In the world of politics and business, it is an established modern standard. The handshake has been with us for centuries, but now health professionals are urging us to reconsider the familiar greeting ritual for our own safety. But what can replace a handshake, and will it be easy to give up?
The United States has become a country that has been hit harder than others by the coronavirus pandemic, both in terms of the number of infections and the number of deaths. Americans are staying home and trying to avoid physical contact. They are following the advice of public figures such as Anthony Fauci (a scientist, physician, and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases). Fauci is a key figure in the development of the U.S. antiviral strategy. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, he said, “Frankly, I don’t think we should ever shake hands again. If people follow a scientist’s advice on a mass scale, it will mean profound changes in human behavior. After all, the handshake has long been a standard greeting in politics, business, and society. Its origins go back not just centuries, but millennia.
The king of Assyria, Salmansar III, meets with the ruler of Babylon. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has become a reason to question the viability of many of our old habits. “When you extend your hand, you are extending a biological weapon,” insists Gregory Poland, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic, one of the largest medical research institutions in the United States. He calls it an outdated custom that has no place in a society that believes in the microbial theory, according to which certain diseases are caused by microorganisms that invade the body. But can we get rid of what has become an integral part of our lives? Let’s remember how hard it was for us to get used to social distancing (and many still haven’t). Will the custom of shaking hands at meetings die out? And if so, what will replace it?
From ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece, we have images of people extending their open palms to each other as a sign of trust in the person they were meeting. The stone bas-reliefs of Babylon, the epics of Homer – everywhere you look, heroes are reaching out to each other. According to experts, it is not easy to determine the exact origins of this custom, but it is not difficult to guess that it was demonstrated during meetings to show that there was no weapon in hand. The handshake held an important place in ancient Greek and Roman art, conveying the intimacy of feelings and the connection between people. It was used during marriages, meetings with rulers, and in other situations where it was necessary to show that we work together, to strengthen our relationships.
“How about today? “Even if a handshake is not currently used to determine whether your interlocutor is armed, it still shows good intentions,” says Juliana Schrader, professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. “In a business context, this is a very important signal – after all, in business meetings, where many things are at stake, you often meet completely unknown people.” Their research has shown that people are more likely to engage in future cooperation with those who extend their hand at the beginning of negotiations. This is seen as a sign of mutual trust and future cooperation. No wonder you see this symbol in group photos of world leaders at the G20 summit. Of course, the handshake has not become standard everywhere. In countries like Japan, people avoid both handshakes and hugs, preferring non-contact bows. And in some European countries (especially in Italy and France), the handshake is often followed by a double or triple kiss, or rather a cheek-to-cheek touch (another tradition that raises concerns in the era of coronaviruses). But society is changing – and so are its rituals. “The Black Death (the plague that wiped out nearly half the population of medieval Europe) forced the French to abandon the kiss as a greeting – perhaps the handshake awaits the same fate?
Before the pandemic, the handshake was the global standard in politics and business. But that may be about to change. It was not easy for health officials to persuade some people to maintain social distance, let alone get them to stop shaking hands. Even infectious disease experts admit that physical contact is natural for humans. “Look at primates,” Poland suggests. “Their communication involves touch and close contact. They don’t shake hands, but they touch each other’s shoulders, stroke each other, and groom each other’s fur.” By doing this, they are saying: “I am showing you that I want to make contact with you. Tiziana Casciaro, a professor of organizational behavior at the University of Toronto, Canada, says that handshakes are very natural for us when we want to establish trust with each other, and Fauci’s call goes against that. But she understands: Fauci is concerned about people’s safety. Kashyaro believes that when the pandemic is over, many of us will be afraid to shake hands, at least for a while. “The concussion from the pandemic is not going to go away immediately,” she says. Poland agrees: “For our cultural habits to change, something significant is needed – something like what is happening now.” According to Schroeder, we are about to enter an “uncomfortable period of cleansing,” when two impulses will be at odds: the human need to interact through the customary handshake, and the need to follow the instructions of government and health authorities who consider the practice dangerous. In her research, she found that when someone tries to shake hands and the other person refuses for some reason, the initiator feels uncomfortable. Theoretically, such behavior can lead to a stigmatization of the handshake gesture.
In the U.S., where Fauci suggested abandoning the handshake, some people are already following his advice, and leading etiquette specialists in the country are already suggesting that instead of shaking hands, people say: “Nice to meet you, but I am following health and hygiene regulations.” “I believe that over time it will be possible to replace the handshake with another greeting ritual that conveys the same message,” says Schröder. Experts agree that what matters is not the handshake itself, but the message it conveys. After all, there have always been alternatives, from bows to nose-rubbing. Poland suggests using a light, friendly nod, noting that elbow touches are also very contemporary, although they may look a bit awkward. He also emphasizes that surfaces that people touch frequently (such as door handles and countertops) are usually contaminated with fecal microparticles, so following bathroom hygiene rules would be a much better long-term solution than giving up handshakes. But sooner or later, handshakes will become obsolete, regardless of how the pandemic evolves. “The language of business today is English. So in business circles, a handshake is a kind of agreement,” says Kanina Blanchard, professor and lecturer in business communication at the University of Western Ontario (Canada). “But if you look at it from a mathematical perspective, in China, in India, half the world’s population doesn’t always shake hands, they have other, more familiar ways of greeting each other. So you do the math.” As China, India, and the Middle East become more influential in the business world, the customs of these cultures may well become the new norm, Blanshar points out. Despite the fact that humanity sometimes faces crises like Covid-19, we still need human contact – something that (depending on the culture you belong to) is conveyed by a bow, a hug, a kiss, or a handshake. “You adapt,” Blanchard says. “I don’t want to say I like it when handshakes become a thing of the past, but I don’t see a problem with it.” “We as humans are extremely adept at adapting when there is a need in society.”