Study: Employers are not communicating post-pandemic workplace plans

3 years ago 291

Although employees overwhelmingly privation flexible moving arrangements, 35% of companies privation each unit successful the bureau afloat clip erstwhile COVID-19 ends, according to EY.

While 79% of companies mean to marque mean to extended changes to alteration hybrid work, lone 40% of planetary employers person communicated immoderate plans for the post-COVID-19 pandemic workplace, according to a caller study. This deficiency of clarity is fueling a disconnect with employees who are seeking imperishable flexible moving arrangements, according to the EY Work Reimagined Employer Survey 2021.

The survey, conducted successful June and July, canvassed much than 1,000 concern leaders crossed 9 countries and 25 manufacture sectors. It examined their views connected the interaction of the COVID-19 pandemic connected the workplace, including their perspectives connected the risks and opportunities of hybrid working. The findings were past compared with the results of the caller EY Work Reimagined Employee Survey 2021, the steadfast said.

SEE: Hybrid enactment could make a two-tiered "class" strategy for employees, according to expert (TechRepublic)

One of the astir notable findings from the worker survey was that much than fractional (54%) of planetary respondents said they would see leaving their occupation post-pandemic if they were not fixed immoderate signifier of flexibility successful erstwhile and wherever they work. The worker survey was conducted successful March and received implicit 16,000 responses from 16 countries, the bulk coming from millennials, EY said.

The leader findings survey indicates that companies' plans bespeak the views of 90% of employees, who said they privation flexibility successful erstwhile and wherever they enactment according to the leader survey. However, the information that lone 40% person communicated these plans leaves employees hanging successful the equilibrium connected important issues specified arsenic flexibility, civilization and productivity.

The remaining leader respondents said they are either inactive readying oregon waiting to pass immoderate decisions astir their caller ways of working—which volition successful part, bespeak the precise antithetic stages of the COVID-19 pandemic astir the world, the EY leader survey found.

"Employers person heard large and wide that employees are demanding flexibility successful the post-pandemic moving world,'' said Liz Fealy, EY planetary radical advisory services lawman person and workforce advisory leader, successful a statement. "The biggest information facing astir employers is that they neglect to supply clarity astir their hybrid enactment and instrumentality to bureau plans. Many organizations look to person committedness issues astir flexible working–they cognize they request to accommodate but are holding backmost connected implementing immoderate steadfast plans."

Many studies person shown that employees are prepared to discontinue if they don't get the flexibility they request and Fealy noted that employers who neglect to determination with the times bash hazard losing their people.

"Organizations that privation to flourish request to guarantee that their plans are good defined and communicated and that they equilibrium concern and worker priorities successful refining these plans to assistance make a win-win for the concern and the workforce."

Despite the overwhelming designation of the value of flexible working, the survey reveals that 35% of leader respondents privation each of their employees to instrumentality to the bureau full-time post-pandemic, the survey found. While immoderate of these employers are successful industries that necessitate on-site presence, determination are different organizations that tin enactment virtually, but privation it to hap successful person, the EY survey said.

Further, 51% of leader respondents said that they privation to alteration concern question post-pandemic, but 66% of worker respondents accidental they privation it to resume.

On cardinal issues relating to civilization and productivity, determination are besides notable disconnects. Almost three-quarters (72%) of leader respondents said they judge that workplace civilization has improved since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to 48% of worker respondents. Meanwhile, 82% of leader respondents judge productivity tin present beryllium measured from anywhere, compared to 67% of worker respondents.

Employers person myriad risks to contend with

Employers who participated successful the survey were besides asked astir risks beyond carnal wellness that they judge whitethorn travel with the displacement toward hybrid working. Almost fractional (45%) accidental 1 of the biggest risks volition beryllium their quality to found fairness and equity among employees erstwhile immoderate jobs necessitate a fixed docket oregon location, creating a "have and person not" dynamic based connected roles.

How to clasp endowment and connection flexibility was a cardinal interest for 43% of leader respondents, and 40% pointed to hybrid moving arsenic a hazard to culture, creativity and collaboration.

Other risks identified see processing next-generation endowment (39%), establishing and measuring productivity (36%), upskilling/reskilling employees for caller ways of moving (30%), adopting caller technologies to enactment hybrid moving (28%), supporting worker well-being (28%)

In making these preparations, workplace information is besides a large consideration. The survey revealed that 43% volition necessitate unit to beryllium afloat vaccinated earlier returning to the office. A akin proportionality (42%) program to incentivize vaccination, for example, done paid clip disconnected for employees, taxable to legislative requirements.

"These assorted and analyzable risks marque it harder for employers to specify their back-to-office plans for a divers workforce,'' Fealy observed. This tin "leave galore exposed to the anticipation that employees volition determination to companies wherever flexibility is intelligibly implemented."

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