I have a wood shop, I wear a respirator constantly unless I've got the doors open and the fans on and I'm not going to be doing more than a one-off cut that afternoon. A properly fitted 3M 6800-series full-face respirator is pretty comfortable even for long periods and while wearing glasses. A 6200-series half-mask is even more comfortable, though a little awkward with glasses.
The only problem is that a 6800-series costs $200, plus probably $30 a month in P100 cartridges given the level of particulates in the air, and that's more than these companies think their workers' lives are worth.
I've got a 3M full-face respirator as well, and I agree. I've worn it with P100 filters for 8+ hours (minus breaks to drink water) doing hard work in uncomfortable conditions many times, and never found the respirator to be a burden.
They're a little pricey up front, but I figured it was cheap overall compared to the long-term costs of using something less effective. Having eye protection integrated as well is ideal, since it never fogs up.
I got one of their FF400 face shield respirators to do lead paint removal and spent dozens of hours in unconditioned spaces with a tyvek suit. They are extremely well designed and never fog because the inhaled air passes first through the face mask area and then through one-way valves into the mouth/nose section and is exhausted downward at the front of the mouth/nose area.
I used it during the beginning of COVID to protect myself up until I was vaccinated and went for about 18 months before getting infected. Definitely got some odd looks at Costco.
Maybe you are meaning for medical staff? Yeah there's a fully unfiltered exhaust stream blowing downwards.
I too am a proponent of proper half face respirators (7500 here), and they are quite comfortable compared to the various disposable solutions, but I'd still acknowledge that wearing one does carry some discomfort. Not enough to make me want to get silicosis instead, but also not so little that I can confidently say I'm happy wearing it for 8 hours.
What's your solution for the full face with glasses? The spectacle kit looks like it's a frame that you need to get custom lenses put into. The few times I've worn mine (FF-400) I've just suffered the extra ear pressure, but it's not great. It's also a size too small because it was what was in stock at the start of Covid when nobody knew wtf was going to happen, but I don't see that increasing one size would change much. I plan to eventually trying to form a custom thing to hold a regular pair of glasses.
And have you really found the P100 cartridges need to be discarded every few weeks? The only things I've found say that particulate filters only need to be discarded when they become difficult to breathe through, and I've never actually reached that point.
Wearing a respirator mask is substantially more pleasant when you're just farting around your hobby shop (and only when the temperature is pleasant or cool), than it is when you're actually working at a productivity level expected of laborers, with heavy stone, in an industrial workshop, no matter the temperature and humidity.
Try spending an hour in your shop constantly lugging heavy tools and wood around wearing that respirator on a humid 80 degree day, then you can be smug and waggle your finger at laborers for not protecting themselves.
I mentioned the wood shop because I have expended considerably more energy in that shop and also in researching how to do so safely, but I've owned a property management company and personally I've done two house remodels where I did most of the demolition (and most things that weren't framing or plumbing) myself. I don't like to do it, but I am no stranger to spending hours at a stretch working in a half-mask, over my head, in Some Weather, in crawlspaces, attics, and basements.
Yes, I'm extremely fortunate that I can pay for help when needed, but I do quite a lot of my own work. So, if you're going to invent a guy to be mad at, maybe you should pick a softer target.
FWIW, I'm not a professional, but I've worn a full-face respirator while spending entire days working in extremely hot crawlspaces, demo'ing and removing heavy antique cast iron drain pipe, running a wet saw for large-format tile, etc.
I'm just one datapoint, but my assumption would be that if it's truly too much of a burden, their employer should be buying better respirators and/or filters.
The only problem is that a 6800-series costs $200, plus probably $30 a month in P100 cartridges given the level of particulates in the air, and that's more than these companies think their workers' lives are worth.