Harris Poll Survey Finds Most Employees Satisfied With Covid-19 Return-to-Work Plans [Infographic]

Harris Poll Covid-19 Survey – Most Employees Satisfied with Return to Work Plans Infographic

Let’s face it; the Covid-19 pandemic is extremely dangerous. It’s disrupted everyone’s lives throughout the United States and the entire world. Most U.S. states are slowly reopening while some are in fact clamping down and backing off on their re-openings.

A survey conducted by The Harris Poll for the American Staffing Association Workforce Monitor found that more than three-quarters of employed U.S. adults (79%) are satisfied with their employers’ pandemic-related return-to-work plans. The two infographics are included in full below with the complete survey findings.

Harris Poll Covid-19 Survey – 79% of Employees Satisfied with Return to Work Plans

Harris Poll Covid-19 Survey – More Men Are Satisfied Than Women with Return to Work Plans

Eight in 10 men (83%) compared to seven in 10 women (74%) are satisfied with such plans, while generations also differ in their satisfaction levels—with Baby Boomers (85%), Millennials (82%), and Gen X (77%) all more satisfied, and Gen Z (62%) less content.

Harris Poll Covid-19 Survey – Response by Age Groups, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millenials are all More Satisfied than Gen Z

The survey found that eight in 10 workers are pleased with their employers’ response to the pandemic specifically in regard to:

Office cleanliness protocols: 85%
Remote/telework policy: 82%
Communication from employers about the Covid-19 pandemic: 81%
Benefits (e.g., paid leave, sick leave, etc.): 80%

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When planning for employee returns to “brick-and-mortar” job sites, organizations must consider a range of measures to ensure the safety of their workforces. Employed adults indicated that the top five measures that would be critical for them to feel safe on the job are:

Social distancing measures (e.g., signage, plan for communal areas, reduced number of staff in workplaces at a time, etc.): 53%
Detailed cleaning protocols: 46%
Covid-19 testing offered to employees: 44%
Personal protective equipment required (i.e., masks): 44%
Temperature/symptom screening: 43%

Harris Poll Covid-19 Survey – Critical Safety Measures

However, 7% of those employed said that nothing would make them feel safe on the job during the pandemic, with workers in the health care sector more likely to cite this fear (14%) than those in the professional–managerial (6%) and engineering, scientific, and IT (2%) industry sectors. One in 10 workers in the industrial (8%) and office–clerical and administrative (7%) sectors also share this concern.

“Worker health, safety, and well-being are of the utmost importance to all employers, but are even more top-of-mind as the nation continues to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic and businesses begin to resume traditional work and operations,” said Richard Wahlquist, ASA president and chief executive officer. “As part of its continued commitment to safety, ASA is providing new return-safely-back-to-work best practice protocols for all employers, and a checklist specific to ensuring the safety of temporary and contract workers.”

Survey Methodology

The Harris Poll conducted the survey online within the U.S. on behalf of ASA, June 16–18, 2020, among a total of 2,065 U.S. adults age 18 and older, of whom 1,134 are employed full time or part time, or are self-employed. Results were weighted on age, gender, education, race/ethnicity, household income, and geographic region where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the U.S. population. In addition, the data were adjusted for differences between the online and offline populations.

The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys in the U.S. (tracking public opinion, motivations, and social sentiment since 1963) and is now part of Harris Insights & Analytics, a global consulting and market research firm.