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06. Supporting Employee Wellbeing

Most small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have taken concrete actions to enhance employee wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most common and effective of these actions has been allowing for the flexibility to balance the new work/home life conditions. All things considered, the majority of SMB employees remain optimistic in light of the pandemic.

Harris Flash Polls

Published: Apr 30, 2020

Eight in 10 (82%) of SMBs have taken actions to enhance employee wellbeing.

Of all those who have taken these actions:

INCREASED FLEXIBILITY:
  • 56% have increased flexibility for employees to balance new work/home life situations

SOCIAL SUPPORT:
  • 33% have increased visibility of the leadership or management team

  • 30% have offered virtual gatherings, such as happy hours, coffee breaks, book clubs, etc.

Other actions taken by theme SMB leaders include:

MENTAL, PHYSICAL, AND FINANCIAL HEALTH:
  • 27% have provided stress management information

  • 21% have offered meditation/mindfulness courses or activities

  • 20% have provided financial education information, such as 401K, etc.

  • 16% have initiated fitness challenges

SUPPORT FOR PARENTS:
  • 26% have offered resources for parents managing at-home/online schooling

  • 16% have provided ideas for keeping children occupied

Which ONE action do you think has been most effective in enhancing employee wellbeign during the pandemic?

Effectiveness of employee wellbeing efforts

Of all the efforts to enhance employee wellbeing, increasing flexibility to help employees balance their new work/home life is judged by SMB leaders as the most effective in the current climate: 44% of SMBs cited this as the single most effective action taken.

Overall, three quarters (74%) of SMBs say that most or all of their employees have taken advantage of the new employee wellbeing offerings. This is paying off in terms of optimism: 57% of SMB leaders would say their workforce remains optimistic in light of the current circumstances.

SMB leaders are about evenly split on whether that optimism is trending up or down in the past month: A little more than half (52%) say their workforce is more optimistic since the beginning of April, and a little less than half (48%) say their workforce is less optimistic.

Methodology

TriNet is partnering with The Harris Poll to conduct an ongoing series ofsurveys with business leaders in companies of 5 to 249 employees. Business leaders are qualified as either owners/partners or C-level executives. Quotas are set by company size and industry for each wave.

We surveyed 178 SMBs in latest wave of the research (April 21-24, 2020); actual distribution by company size and industry is as follows:

  • 67 business leaders with 5-19 employees

  • 83 business leaders with 20-99 employees

  • 28 business leaders with 100-249 employees

  • 52 business leaders in Main Street industries (such as automotive, construction, hospitality, manufacturing, real estate, retail, skilled trade, etc.)

  • 126 business leaders in Technology, Financial Services, Professional Services, Life Science, Non-Profit, or other industries

This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About The Harris Poll

The Harris Poll is one of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., tracking public opinion, motivations and social sentiment since 1963. It is now part of Harris Insights & Analytics, a global consulting and market research firm that strives to reveal the authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. We work with clients in three primary areas; building twenty-first-century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic media through public relations research. Our mission is to provide insights and advisory to help leaders make the best decisions possible.

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