Global workforce remains positive while dealing with fallout from pandemic
Although overall optimism may be the long-term outlook, it is uneven among workers.
Despite the upheaval caused by the pandemic over the past year, the global workforce is positive about the future.
“We are seeing a real resilience in terms of worker optimism,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist for ADP. “The outlook for the next five years remains largely positive.”
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The ADP Research Institute surveyed more than 32,000 adult workers in 17 countries to understand employee sentiment and compiled the results in “People at Work 2021: A Global Workforce View.” Richardson shared the results in an online news conference on April 28.
“In the past year, business-as-usual has been suspended, forcing employers and workers to rethink accepted norms and adapt quickly to an uncertain and fast-changing world,” she said. “COVID-19′s impact on job loss and change has been uneven, and those who held their jobs are facing unexpected choices, compromises and even opportunities. We set out to understand how the pandemic continues to shape workers’ opinions and attitudes so employers can better understand the shift in employee mindset as they navigate the path forward.”
Richardson discussed key findings in five areas:
Workplace confidence
Although 86% of workers still say they feel optimistic about the next five years in the workplace, this is down from 92% last year. Although overall optimism may be the long-term outlook, it is uneven among workers, especially among new entrants in the workforce. Fears of job insecurity have compelled three-quarters of respondents to take on extra tasks, longer hours or assume a heavier workload.
“The impact in terms of job loss and pay cuts has been widespread across the globe, with 64% of the global workforce negatively impacted professionally by COVID-19, including 28% who lost a job, were furloughed or were temporarily laid off and 23% who took a pay cut,” Richardson said. “Lost jobs and pay cuts were most common among the youngest members of the workforce. Feelings of job insecurity are nearly universal.”
Workplace conditions
With job security concerns looming large, nearly half of global respondents have taken on additional responsibilities at work, either to compensate for colleagues losing their roles or to cope with the extra workload that COVID-19 has created. Unpaid overtime has jumped sharply to 9.2 hours per week on average, up from 7.3 hours just a year ago.
Employee performance
Workplace changes have offered opportunities to develop new skills or embark on new career trajectories that workers find satisfying or that unlock their potential in unforeseen ways. More than one in four workers report having taken on a new role or changing roles because of job losses in their organization. Most employees have been rewarded financially for their commitment, with nearly seven in 10 having received a pay raise or a bonus.
Worker mobility
Three-quarters of the global workforce made changes or plan to change how or where they live, with that percentage even greater (85%) among Generation Z. Worker mobility also plays into considerations around whether employed roles or gig work are preferable in terms of freedom of choice about how and where to work.
More than half of the global workforce say they are more interested in contract work since the advent of COVID-19, although 83% still would opt for a permanent, traditional job.
Gender and family
“The key finding is that the struggle is real and evident in maintaining work-life balance,” Richardson said. “Work-life challenges are remarkably consistent across the globe.”
Two-thirds of the global workforce say they have been forced to make a compromise between their work and their personal life because of the impact of the pandemic, especially on women and parents. Women also are less likely than men to receive a bonus or pay raise for taking on additional work or changing roles.
“Many companies are contemplating returning employees back to onsite workplace settings,” Richardson concluded. “Our findings show that while many of the workplace changes over the past year have been abrupt and sudden, the transition back needs to be strategic and deliberate, with greater attention placed on the most impacted groups, particularly younger workers and women. For employers, that means shoring up workers’ health, morale, productivity and loyalty long-term.”
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