The pandemic stress test: How businesses adapted -- or failed to adapt

The pandemic has been a stress test for most large organizations, revealing both areas of strength and resilience and things that can be improved.

BrightPlan, a financial wellness company, recently surveyed 1,500 U.S.-based knowledge workers (both HR and non-HR) at organizations with 1,000-plus employees to learn their opinions about how their company handled the pandemic and what they expect moving forward. This is what they found:

1. HR was a surprise pandemic success story. Despite the initial upheaval, employees were impressed by how quickly HR adapted to meet their changing needs. Nine in 10 said their company handled pandemic-related issues well. This is a particularly impressive accomplishment in an era when many institutions, from governments to health organizations, came under fire for their pandemic response.

HR professionals have had an especially challenging year, and employees recognize it. Seven in 10 agree that HR’s job has been harder during Covid.

Sixty percent said the pandemic brought employees across the company closer together. A dissection of that figure reveals a different story for various roles within an organization. Just 38 percent of associate-level employees agree that the pandemic brought them closer together. That number jumped to 58 percent for managers and nearly doubled to 74 percent for C-suite members.

It wasn’t all positive news, however, as major divides remain between associate-level employees and C-suite executives. When asked their opinion on how their company pivoted its benefits, just 21 percent of associates said that their overall benefits had improved, less than one-third the rate of C-suite executives (65 percent).

2. Financial stress costs employers nearly $5 billion per week. U.S. employers lose an estimated $4.7 billion per week (about $244 billion annually) because of worsening employee financial health, leading to lower productivity and engagement. U.S. workers with worsened financial health reported lower productivity (46 percent) and lower engagement (44 percent) in 2021.

Employees did take steps during the pandemic to reduce their financial stress. Fifty-six percent contributed more to retirement savings and 64 percent felt comfortable enough with their finances to plan a post-pandemic splurge.

However, despite the boost in savings, the state of Americans’ financial literacy is in bad shape — only 20 percent of those surveyed could answer three out of four basic finance questions correctly.

Of note, women scored higher than men and people of color scored higher than white respondents.

3. The benefits bar keeps rising. HR is not complacent about meeting the needs of employees and seeks ongoing improvement. Ninety-four percent of HR leaders believe employers need to make major benefits changes to keep employees satisfied, productive and engaged post-pandemic. Employees agree — only 5 percent of associate-level employees “completely agree” that their benefits improved overall during the pandemic.

4. A balancing act for organizations. Employers are always faced with the difficult task of serving the needs of stakeholders while keeping employees happy. This balancing act was accentuated during Covid, and the survey results showed that employees have a complex view of their employer.

The vast majority (86 percent) of respondents agreed their company cares about the safety and well-being of employees, yet 68 percent said their organization puts profits over employee well-being.

This past year was more than just a learning experience for employees and employers alike. It was an entire realignment of personal and professional priorities, researchers said.

Despite such upheaval, companies and their HR teams are the heroes of the pandemic, and even with new and evolving priorities, employees have a positive outlook as they look to the future of work life in the post-Covid era.

The pandemic brought with it increased financial stress for employees but also successful benefits shifts from employers as perspectives on financial management evolved.

“As employers look to the future and continue to focus on hiring and retaining the best talent, these findings provide a roadmap of what employees care about and are looking for in a post-Covid world,” the report concluded.

“From health care and the ability to work from home to more financial wellness benefits, it’s time for companies to build on the employee trust they’ve gained during the pandemic and provide their people with the benefits and work environments they crave. Businesses that do so will be the true winners in the post-Covid era.”