Employees give employers thumbs-up for COVID-19 crisis management, empathy: Zenefits study
Still, most workers surveyed reported deep anxieties about their own futures and the future of their companies.
A majority of workers who kept their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic said they approved of how their employers were handling the crisis, according to a survey conducted last month.
The survey, by HR software firm Zenefits, found that 67% of workers felt that their employers genuinely cared about their wellbeing during the pandemic, which has led to widespread lockdowns to protect public safety and slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
However, 51% of workers reported that they were “very anxious” about their employment status, and a full 70% said they expected their work environment to be forever changed by the impact of COVID-19.
The study surveyed 1,005 U.S. workers at companies with more than five employees between April 8 and April 13. Of those, 941 were currently employed and 64 had been recently laid off from their jobs due to the crisis.
Overall, workers gave high marks to companies, with most saying that employers had taken steps to ensure safety and retain jobs.
According to the survey, 74% percent of respondents said that their employer took precautions to ensure employees’ safety, and 68% agreed that their employer provided timely and clear communication during the crisis.
Seventy-six percent of respondents said they felt as though their employer had done everything it could to keep them employed, and just 25% said that they were disappointed in their company’s response.
Still, most workers surveyed reported deep anxieties about their own futures and the future of their companies.
According to the survey, half of respondents said the business they work for wouldn’t last longer than three months without financial assistance or a significant pick-up in business. Twenty-nine percent said the business would last two to three months; 12% gave it one month, and 9% said they expected their employer to hang on for less than one month.
Workers, meanwhile, were split on optimism about the economy once the crisis had passed, with 41% agreeing that the economy would bounce back quickly once the pandemic was under control. Thirty-nine percent disagreed, and 25% of respondents were neutral on the question.
Assessing the government response to the crisis, 81% of respondents approved of state and local lockdown orders, but reactions were more varied when it came to the federal government’s handling of the situation. On that issue, 47% agreed or strongly agreed that they were disappointed, and 30% said they either disagreed or strongly disagreed.
Most of the respondents said they were aware of recently passed relief measures, like the CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program, though fewer said they or their employer were likely to take advantage of them.
Tom McParland of New York Law Journal can be contacted at tmcparland@alm.com. Follow him on Twitter @TMcParlandALM.
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