Three-quarters of workers are satisfied with their
employer's response to COVID-19 and feel confident
about their employer's precautions to ensure employee
safety, a survey has found. A similar proportion also
feel supported by their direct manager, according to
the survey of 5,010 employees across Canada, the U.S.,
Australia and New Zealand released by Ceridian.
More than seven out of 10 respondents also feel that
their employer did everything it could to keep them
employed as it weathered the effects of the pandemic
— with fewer U.S. respondents agreeing than those in
other countries.
Satisfaction with their employer's pandemic response
was similar across four of the five countries, with
respondents in New Zealand being noticeably happier
— 10 per cent higher.
However, confidence in their employers waned when
it came to mental health support and staying connected
with employees during the pandemic, although the
majority still feel positive about them.
More than two-thirds of small businesses across
Canada and the U.S. still felt the negative impacts
of the pandemic late in 2020, but news of vaccine
development was spurring optimism, a survey has
found. Fifty-five per cent of respondents were more
optimistic about their business' chances of recovery
in Alignable's poll of 9,204 business owners. This
came as news spread of vaccines entering late-stage
testing with promising success rates — with 17 per
cent of employers "significantly" more optimistic.
However, there were signs things were going to
get worse before they got better. Four in 10 survey
Remote work helps work-life balance
still feel a part of their
organization
say they'll give preference to
employers that offer remote work
want to work remotely
indefinitely after the pandemic
will quit their job if they can't
continue to work from home
VACCINES BOOST OUTLOOK
Four out of five U.S. employees who
have been working remotely during the
pandemic say that they enjoy working
from home. And two-thirds say the
experience has positively affected their
work-life balance, according to a survey
of 1,022 U.S. workers by LiveCareer,
which also asked about preferences
for the future.
WORKERS HAPPY
WITH PANDEMIC
RESPONSE
respondents were adopting a wait-and-see attitude,
indicating that their business outlook had not changed,
while fewer than one in 10 was less optimistic for 2021.
While the proportion of small and medium-sized
employers experiencing a negative impact from the
pandemic stayed the same as one month earlier (68
per cent), those that considered the negative impact
to be significant jumped to 50 per cent from seven
per cent.
Nearly one-half of respondents (48 per cent) said
their recovery likely wouldn't begin until some time
after March 2021.
87%
62%
61%
29%
72%
64%
58%
55%
EMPLOYER SUPPORT DURING PANDEMIC
WORK FROM HOME PREFERRED
Employees feel
more productive
doing their job
Employees feel
connected to
company culture
Employer provides
mental health support
for employees
Employer provides
clear and timely
communications
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