With climbing COVID-19 case numbers and expanding shutdown orders, most U.S. workers doubt their organizations have the culture and resilience to navigate the situation. A study by Eagle Hill Consulting found that only 25 percent of U.S. employees say their organization has a culture that fosters employee innovation and collaboration to deal with a crisis.
The company’s survey also found that 39 percent of study respondents say their organization has the resilience to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic, while slightly more than one-third (35 percent) say their organizations have trusted leaders and managers to navigate the crisis.
“As the pandemic unfolds, our research finds that employees continue to have low confidence in their organization’s ability to manage this lingering crisis,” says Melissa Jezior, president and CEO of Eagle Hill Consulting. “We’ve been monitoring employee sentiment since March, and it’s concerning that we’re not seeing increased confidence. This pandemic isn’t going away anytime soon, and low employee confidence will further hamper an organization’s ability to steer through the pandemic. However, we did find there are steps employers can take to make employees feel safe as they return to the workplace—from providing protective gear and COVID-19 testing to mandating sick employees stay home.”
The 2020 Eagle Hill Consulting Trended COVID-19 Employee Survey found that less than half (40 percent) believe their organization is proactive about addressing concerns for the health of their workforce, and slightly more than one-third (35 percent) say their company is proactive about addressing concerns for the economic health of their organization. The survey also reports that 39 percent of workers feel they are less productive and 38 percent of employees say they feel more burnt out at work, while close to half (44 percent) feel less connected to their co-workers.
Eagle Hill also surveyed employees on what employers could do to make them feel safe when returning to their workplace. The polling found that 62 percent said to provide hand-sanitizer, masks and gloves; 60 percent said to mandate that employees with any symptoms stay at home; about half (48 percent) said to make COVID-19 testing available to employees; half (50 percent) said to limit the number of people (e.g., employees/visitors) allowed in the physical workplace at any given time; 50 percent said to require physical distancing in workplace design and 42 percent said implement flexible sick leave and supportive policies and practices.
The 2020 Eagle Hill Consulting Trended COVID-19 Employee Survey was conducted online by Ipsos on March 17-19, March 31-April 2, April 8-10, April 14-16, April 28-30, May 12-14, May 14-18, June 11-15 and July 9 –13. Each online survey included more than 1,000 respondents from a random sample of employees across the United States. The survey polled respondents on COVID-19 and its potential impact on their work experience and environment.