A new report from ADP Research Institute, The Workforce View 2020: Post- COVID-19, reveals employees’ attitudes toward the world of work. In late 2019/early 2020, ADP Research Institute surveyed more than 32,000 workers in 17 countries to understand their feelings and opinions surrounding a range of workplace issues. After the pandemic hit, ADP Research Institute revisited the survey, seeking worker views now in a COVID-19 world.
Top-line findings include:
- Positivity persists: Confidence has declined less than one might expect, with 84% of workers today still feeling optimistic about the next five years in the workplace (down from 86% pre-pandemic), and 75% who feel buoyant about the year ahead. Optimism among young people is highest of all.
- Limited life expectancy for today’s jobs: More than 1 in 5 workers (22%) believe their job will not exist five years from today, rising to 1 in 3 (33%) in Asia-Pacific (APAC). However, most (65%) are upbeat about the flexibility of opportunities they will have in the future, which is virtually unchanged since before the crisis hit.
- Perceived discrimination remains prevalent: The overall proportion of workers who say they feel they have been discriminated against by their employer remains static at 1 in 3. Incidences of perceived discrimination have inched upward in APAC and North America since before COVID-19, while Europe has seen a slight decrease.
- Flexible working on the rise: Some 44% of employers now have official flexible working policies in place, up from 24% pre-COVID-19. However, more than half of respondents say they have felt pressure to come into work at some point during the pandemic.
- Sacrifices on pay: The amount of unpaid overtime workers are doing has increased by an hour on average since COVID-19 hit. Some 38% of workers would be prepared to take a pay cut if necessary to save jobs due to COVID-19, but 32% are resistant to any moves to cut pay or defer salaries, even if it ultimately means saving jobs.
For more information, visit: ADPRI.org
