How the Pandemic Has Impacted Employee Satisfaction
How are your employees responding to the global COVID-19 pandemic? Are they in fear of their job security and overall physical health? Or, are they focused on the partial re-openings going on in various states in America and countries across the world? It’s obvious that the pandemic has affected almost every aspect of life as we know it, and it will continue to have major implications on national economies, businesses and personal health.
CNBC and SurveyMonkey have done specific research in their latest workforce survey. They polled 9,059 professionals in the U.S. and weighted the data to reflect the demographic composition of employed workers 18 and over, based on U.S. Census Bureau information. The survey took age, race, sex, education and geography into consideration. SurveyMonkey and CNBC explored the impact of COVID-19 on employee trends and satisfaction. Analyzing participants’ responses led to quite a few discoveries, some of which were unexpected.
Almost half of employees are remote
According to the workforce survey, 48% of respondents reported that they are currently doing their jobs remotely. For the companies who could easily transition their staff to remote work, it has been the ideal situation for many employees. 44% of remote employees indicated that they are happier to have their job now than they were before the outbreak. In addition, there seems to be an overwhelming sentiment that management and leadership teams are on the right track. 88% of remote workers said they are confident that their organization’s leadership is making the right business decisions to manage through the current environment.
Slight increase in employee happiness
The survey’s Workforce Happiness Index revealed that despite COVID-19, 73 out of 100 people are happy with their jobs. This is a slight increase from last year when 71 people out of 100 reported their happiness. In addition, 54% of employees say they are “very satisfied” with their job, which is an increase from December 2019 when just 47% responded that way. Another interesting point compared the responses of people who reported their current happiness versus those that say they wish they had another job. In a better than three-to-one margin (38% to 11%) more workers say that they are happier in their role since the pandemic started than those who desire to have a different job.
Working harder
Over half of all employees who participated in the survey (54%) say it has gotten “somewhat harder” or “much harder” to do their job effectively compared to the results prior to the pandemic. The mandate of remote work, along with limited ability to travel and meet in person, has forced companies to be creative and utilize new technologies in efforts to be productive. This could be an example of the implications and effects of instant change. Organizations have had to react quickly often changing their operations, business models and customer service to meet newly imposed government regulations, without being able to implement effective change management strategies. In totality, this can definitely impact the job difficulty (or perceived difficulty) level for workers.
Under regular circumstances, the level of employee happiness within a position usually depends on a variety of things. Due to the onset of COVID-19, people have had to reflect on many aspects of their employment. Research from CNBC and SurveyMonkey has shown that almost half of all employees are remote and there has been a slight increase in employee happiness since before the pandemic. Also, professionals have reported that due to the circumstances they believe that their work has gotten harder. What is one thing that your organization could do to support your employees during this time?
Porschia Parker is a Certified Coach, Professional Resume Writer, and Founder of Fly High Coaching. (https://www.fly-highcoaching.com) She empowers ambitious professionals and motivated executives to add $10K on average to their salaries.