COVID-19 has seen the necessity of many companies to adapt to change. Changes with technology and ways of working affect different workers and industries in different ways. This is drawn from a survey of more than 11,000 full-time workers and it was conducted by Reflektive, the leader in performance management. This was undertaken through Reflektive’s engagement survey product (titled “Coronavirus Sentiment Survey”). The survey looked at multiple industries, with the stand-out drop in productivity being the legal profession. A key finding adding to their stress levels is that legal teams need to keep up with a flood of new legislation.
As well as those from legal services, Human Resources practitioners also exhibited low productivity levels and expressed concerns about working within the current crisis. The report notes that: “HR practitioners are working overtime on workforce planning, employee connectivity, and the new role that they’re playing in their company, causing them to feel stressed and overwhelmed.”
Although some specific departments have been impacted, two positive areas to note from respondents across all industries were, first, that 91 percent of employees feel supported by their managers during this time. The second finding was that 92 percent of respondents feel strongly their companies are taking appropriate measures to address the current situation.
However, there are issues to be addressed in terms of how the some professionals are dealing with the current times. This indicated that smaller firms are struggling. Employees at large organizations (defined as having 1,000 or more employees) are more likely to feel engaged, productive, and supported. This probably reflects the fact that larger companies have more resources and staff to better address the needs of their workforce.
The number one area for such sentiments, from bigger companies, was the finance sector. Overall, employees who were working from home felt safer than those required to be at work.
The survey also showed how remote productivity is not linked to remote work experience, as gaming and advertising employees have lower productivity. The biggest challenges for employees now are a lack of alignment, isolation, and technical difficulties.
