COVID-19 and the impact on deskless workers

During this COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a lot of discussion around the move to a remote workforce, the stresses around working from home, and the impact on mental health and well-being of working remotely.

However, per a recent study released today, there are 2.7 billion workers worldwide that don’t have the ability to work from home. These workers, part of the “deskless workforce,” are working in industries such as retail, hotel and food services, health care, transportation and logistics, and are critical to the day-to-day functions of society.

Related: The next generation of AI-resistant blue-collar jobs

The study “State of the Deskless Workforce,” an annual report by Quinyx, a cloud-based, mobile-first workforce management software, shows just how significantly COVID-19 has impacted the deskless workforce in the areas around scheduling, sick time, wages and communication.

The survey, conducted in February, polled 1,200 Americans identifying themselves as a deskless worker. The initial results showed major struggles with work-life balance for deskless workers. In fact, according to the study, even before the impact of COVICD-19, 74% of deskless workers went to work when they were sick. Then as the world faced a global pandemic, the needs of the deskless workforce shifted dramatically.

To understand how much the pandemic has changed the deskless workforce, the study polled the same target audience in late April. The statics that came out of the study showed the impact COVID-19 has caused, including 24% of those polled losing their jobs.

Scheduling & sick leave

According to the study, there are millions of deskless workers in the U.S. that don’t have access to affordable health insurance for themselves or their families, and in fact, just 13% have paid sick leave.

In addition, taking sick days have a stigma for the deskless workforce. Because of this stigma, even during these pandemic times, 14% reported they still went into work sick. These workers are also the most likely to have frequent contact with customers, creating new health risks for consumers.

So why during the pandemic, would deskless workers continue to go work even though they experienced symptoms of illness? Per the study, almost 50% risked their health and the health of others due to the simple fact they could not afford the loss in pay. And 23% worried that taking more than one consecutive sick day could get them fired. In addition, 47% polled believed switching a shift would “be perceived negatively by their employer” and feared by switching a shift with a coworker they could get fired, according to the study.

Communication

During the pandemic even though there was an increase in communication from employers, with 85% of workers polled in the story saying they were contacted off-hours, one in four workers didn’t believe their employer provided clear communication or provide enough information during the pandemic.

In addition, 35% said that their employer didn’t provide adequate training or direction on how to perform their job during the pandemic. And because workers had discomfort communicating with their managers, it created potential health risks including what to do if they felt sick or thought they may have contracted COVID-19 or what to do if a loved one had contracted COVID-19.

Related: 

• Coronavirus puts paid sick leave policies in the spotlight
• $1.3 trillion down: These COVID-19-era unemployment stats are not pretty
• Half of Americans say they can’t afford COVID-19 costs