Aligned or at Odds? Organizational & Employee Readiness to Return to the Workplace
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Aligned or at Odds? Organizational & Employee Readiness to Return to the Workplace

The Conference Board recently conducted two short surveys about organizational and employee readiness to return to the workplace after the lockdowns required by COVID-19. In the August survey with over 1,100 leaders across industries in 20 metropolitan areas, we found that 35% of organizations said the timing of reopening is unknown. Most organizations had implemented safeguarding measures to protect employee health, but only 59% surveyed their employees about their readiness to return. Those or

The Conference Board recently conducted two short surveys about organizational and employee readiness to return to the workplace after the lockdowns required by COVID-19. In the August survey with over 1,100 leaders across industries in 20 metropolitan areas, we found that 35% of organizations said the timing of reopening is unknown. Most organizations had implemented safeguarding measures to protect employee health, but only 59% surveyed their employees about their readiness to return. Those organizations that did survey their employees were very responsive, demonstrated by the fact that they were 20-40% more likely to put all of the safeguarding measures in place.

 The September survey was focused on employees and found that only 17% of employees feel very comfortable returning. The top employee concerns were contracting COVID-19 personally, the risk of exposing family to COVID-19, and the lack of an effective, available vaccine. We also found that some groups of employees feel more pressure to return than others. Without a continuous dialogue, and in many cases, the lack of a detailed plan about returning to the workplace, it comes as no surprise that many workers are apprehensive. We suggest that organizations create a two-way dialogue with their employees and implement a Continuous Listening program if they haven’t already.

 Aligned or at Odds? Organizational & Employee Readiness to Return to the Workplace

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The Conference Board recently conducted two short surveys about organizational and employee readiness to return to the workplace after the lockdowns required by COVID-19. In the August survey with over 1,100 leaders across industries in 20 metropolitan areas, we found that 35% of organizations said the timing of reopening is unknown. Most organizations had implemented safeguarding measures to protect employee health, but only 59% surveyed their employees about their readiness to return. Those organizations that did survey their employees were very responsive, demonstrated by the fact that they were 20-40% more likely to put all of the safeguarding measures in place.

 The September survey was focused on employees and found that only 17% of employees feel very comfortable returning. The top employee concerns were contracting COVID-19 personally, the risk of exposing family to COVID-19, and the lack of an effective, available vaccine. We also found that some groups of employees feel more pressure to return than others. Without a continuous dialogue, and in many cases, the lack of a detailed plan about returning to the workplace, it comes as no surprise that many workers are apprehensive. We suggest that organizations create a two-way dialogue with their employees and implement a Continuous Listening program if they haven’t already.

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