Forrester’s PandemicEX survey revealed the employee experience of 470 US adults working part- or full-time. Below is the second post in a series sharing the most important early findings from the survey. To see the first post, click here.

Barely Half Of Employees Think That Their Companies Will Put Their Health And Wellness First

Only Half Of Companies And Leaders Have The Confidence Of Their Employees When It Comes To An Effective Pandemic Response

The coronavirus is now confirmed in more than 100 countries around the globe. In New York State, cases went from three on March 2 to more than 200 and climbing as of March 11. Accordingly, more companies are taking steps beyond canceling large events or restricting international travel. Do employees feel that their organizations will make the right decisions?

  • Forty-three percent of US workers agree that their company or organization “has a plan for how [they’ll] manage” the risk associated with the coronavirus. Unsurprisingly, managers and executives are the most likely to believe their company has a plan: 51% of them agree. But let’s be honest, that number is still low. If employees at the manager level and above don’t think that there’s a plan, it’s because there likely isn’t one or at least not one worth implementing.
  • Fifty-five percent believe that, plan or not, their company will put their “health and well-being first” when making decisions about the coronavirus. People under 45 are slightly more likely to believe this about their employer, but at 57%, it’s not significantly better.(1) The bigger predictor of whether the company will take care of you is whether you’re a manager or not. But even then, just 63% of those surveyed agree with this statement.
  • Forty-eight percent have confidence in the president or head of their company to “handle the coronavirus situation in the best way possible.” Income or education don’t change the answers much. The biggest delta lies between individual contributors and those that have some management or executive role, with confidence at 40% and 57%, respectively. In an economy where people trust their employers as much or more than other major institutions, employee trust lower down in the organization could wane if the situation isn’t managed well.

Source:

(1) Forrester’s Q1 2020 US PandemicEX Survey 1