Health, safety, job security and burnout due to change in working conditions are some of the major concerns weighing over the minds of the employees during the Coronavirus pandemic, a cross-country survey spanning over 4000 employees from 11 countries has highlighted. The survey titled “Hindsight 2020: COVID-19 Concerns into 2021” was conducted by the The Workforce Institute at UKG.
Contrary to the common belief that employees who are working from home are less burdened than those working in the physical setting, the survey has shown that workload is equally a problem for both sets of employees. A total of 43 percent of the respondents each among those working from home and those working from offices have highlighted fatigue and burnout as a concern.
With the Covid-19 pandemic taking a toll on the economy of the world, about 36 percent of the employees are still concerned about future layoffs and retrenchment due to the instability created due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Strangely the employees of China, which is one of the least affected countries by the pandemic, have highlighted job loss as a major concern with a total of 44 percent employees in the country being fearful of future job loss. Similarly, 41 percent employees in Mexico, 40 percent in Canada and 37 percent in the United States have expressed concerns over job security. The survey also found that job security was a concern in equal measure for all age groups including younger millennials (35%), older millennials (37%), Gen Xers (36%) and Boomers (34%).
With regard to health safety, safely commuting to the workplace has emerged as a top concern for the Indian employees with a whopping 72 percent flagging the concern. Indian employees are followed by the French employees with over half of them highlighting commutation to the workplace as a concern. Concerns over hygiene and cleanliness have also emerged on top of the minds of the employees in Mexico (60%), Canada (50%), and Germany (47%) among others.
The highest share of Indian employees at about 58 percent also said that quick notification of a Covid-19 positive patient at their workplace was a top concern. The employees in Mexico (53%) and China (48%) also overwhelmingly agreed that quick notification of a spreader at their workplaces could prove crucial.
Employees from a total of 11 countries participated in the survey including France, Germany, Australia, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S.
