Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — For several months since the pandemic began, American employees have reported feeling genuine care from their managers, according to a new Gallup poll, published Friday.
By April 2020, a month after the country was completely closed, 49% of workers felt safe, in terms of how their employers treated them, while the percentage reached 25% before the pandemic.
“Employees felt that companies had responded quickly at the start of the pandemic and showed a genuine interest in their work and life,” said Jim Harter, Gallup’s chief scientist for workplace management and wellness, but those feelings didn’t seem to last.
Employees began to feel less interested in their employers in early 2021, according to Gallup figures. The type of job does not affect this outcome, especially since the low sense of psychological well-being affected all industries.
And the Gallup survey showed that by February 2022, employee mistrust had returned to pre-pandemic levels, with only 24% of employees in the workplace saying employers looked after themselves.
Harter saw that “there was a response from employers during 2020, which employees found encouraging,” noting that “the officials did a good job by giving employees a sense of hope amid a foggy reality, as they made clear future plans, and kept people constantly informed of how to help them.” to work where they are.
Communication and flexibility
Harter explained that with the country shutting down for the first time in March 2020, employers intensified their activity, and put in place many plans to combat the pandemic and keep workers safe, and soon they communicated these measures to employees.
According to the survey, increased communication was one of the keys to increasing workers’ sense of comfort.
And when employees felt that their employers communicated a clear action plan to deal with the emerging threat of the Corona virus, 73% of them confirmed that they care about their overall comfort.
In addition, many employers have allowed employees to work from home, and have also shown flexibility about work schedules during the day. This has allowed people to juggle the ever-changing responsibilities of childcare, education and home responsibilities during a pandemic, while also doing well for their job.
Harter stated that “flexibility was a key factor,” noting that “this feature was ironically the most popular before Covid and then people really tested it. And what was a slow trend and pattern before the pandemic spread so quickly, became one of those events that changed the workplace forever. “.
But why is this so important? Harter said the main reasons were reduced time spent commuting to and from the workplace, and improved work-life balance.
Harter said the Gallup poll results indicate this permanent shift, explaining: “We asked employees about their future preferences. For those working in remote ready jobs, at least 9 out of 10 want a flexible work schedule, such as rotating from work home and from the work center, or only work remotely.”
He added, “I think it is important for employers to address this issue,” noting that “when we see a gap between what people prefer and how they expect the employer to respond, we notice a decrease in workers’ rest rate, a rise in their sense of fatigue, and a greater decrease in the percentage of commitment.”
Manager Support
The Gallup poll found that feelings of well-being decreased, especially among managers. Harter noted that this makes sense due to the additional pressures on the people who occupy these key centers during the pandemic.
The new strains of the Corona virus have challenged plans to return to work, which has made communication with employees more difficult. A record number of Americans retired, quit, or changed jobs during 2021, either in response to COVID-19, for higher pay and benefits, or because of age discrimination.
Harter explained that in addition to a shortage of workers and a constantly changing landscape, not all managers have received the training they need to adapt to the new normal of flexible working.
He noted, “Every employee has a different work and life reality that only managers understand. Good managers need their companies to train them on how to give feedback to people and have at least one conversation each week with every employee.”
“This helps to understand what each employee does and how it evolves in their work, so that they can make adjustments. This kind of conversation has to happen more and more,” he added.
Why is employee comfort important?
Gallup’s research shows that teams who feel the company cares about their comfort have higher profits and productivity, more engagement with customers, and fewer safety-related accidents.
In fact, employees who feel cared are 71% less likely to report feeling tired, three times more likely to commit to work, and five times more likely to advocate their company as a good place to work. In addition, 36% of them are more likely to say that they are improving in their life in general.
“Spring and summer will be a great opportunity for organizations moving forward to make workers feel comfortable,” Harter said. “They can talk to employees one-on-one about flexible working arrangements and what makes them more productive. How do we offer customers the best value in this flexible environment?
“Employees want to do these things,” Harter emphasized.