Pandemic’s Workforce Impact

In order to better support employees and clients during the COVID-19 pandemic, a human resources benefits organization aimed to understand the pandemic’s effect on the employee experience and overall wellbeing.

ROLE

Research lead

TEAM

2 supporting researchers

TIMELINE

8 weeks

Process

One-on-One Interviews

To gain a general understanding of the pandemic’s impact on employee’s lives — both during and outside of work — I conducted one-on-one interviews with 10 people across various traits which were priorities for the organization:

  • Financially impacted

  • Health impacted

  • Not impacted financially or health-wise

  • Parent with school-aged child

  • Living alone/with another adult

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Multi-dimensional concerns

• Financial: Job security or furloughs

• Health: Keep family and self safe & happy; others taking the virus less seriously

• Mental & emotional: Balancing work, life, and homeschool

• Underlying concern: Uncertainty about the pandemic’s duration and overall future

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Adaptations to daily life

• Finances: Stricter budgeting; contribute less to 401(k) for more disposable income; self-education on financial literacy

• Social connections: Remote gatherings; more face-time calls; social-distanced gatherings with neighbors

• Home life: Split homeschooling with spouse; create structured schedule for work-life balance; find new at-home hobbies

Focus Groups

Based on the initial interview findings, the company identified three target groups that would benefit the most from increased employer support. To gain clearer insights of these groups’ concerns and current employee support, I facilitated three focus group interviews with the target segments:

  • Financially impacted (furloughed, laid off, salary freeze, living paycheck to paycheck)

  • Frontline workers (vet services, building maintenance, healthcare, real estate management)

  • Employees working from home

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Main concerns

• Safety for frontline workers: Worried about health of self and spreading virus to family; inconsistent guidance from company versus government/news

• Lack of work-life balance: Frontline workers take on more shifts; at-home workers lack boundaries between work and home-life

• Anxiety for financially impacted workers: Worried about unemployment benefits running out; uncertainty of job prospects

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Current employer support

• Increased digital tools: Timely employer communication and team collaboration

• Safety as the new normal: Frequent sanitization; PPE; temperature checks; social distancing

• Focus on mental health: New/increased promotion of mental health resources and apps

Insights

Although people found ways to cope on their own, the research surfaced the crucial need for employer support to foster employee wellbeing and retention.

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Negative emotions are offset by positives around human connection, saving money, and time for self-reflection and creative outlets.

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The likelihood of staying with an employer depends on the employer’s swift actions around safety, communication, and empathy.

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“Home life” is a new dimension for work-life balance, due to more time spent at home and finding ways to stay entertained without going out.

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Employer communication needs to be timely and personalized. Otherwise, employees will find them irrelevant and be more likely to dismiss subsequent employer messaging.

Impact

Employers’ transparency and authenticity in their values were more important than ever. The “show, not tell” mentality needed to go beyond employees, and stretch to the community and greater good. Based on these research findings, the organization took concrete actions by providing additional support for its own employees, while integrating these ideas into their strategic client discussions .

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Wellbeing

• Subscription to mental health and resilience apps

• Webinars on financial guidance and mental wellbeing

• Fee-waived services for counseling & telemedicine

• Addition of “How are you doing?” question on quarterly employee engagement survey

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Productivity & work-life balance

• Home office budget

• Flexible working hours

• Floating vacation days

• Programs to support working parents

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Communication

• Timely messaging from leadership

• Open forums for employees to share stories and support

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Career development

• Education budget

• Virtual mentorship program

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Community & greater good

• Increased volunteering opportunities

• Additional matching gift programs