Survey Reveals Employee Productivity & Engagement during Covid-19

Ten Spot, the workforce engagement platform that keeps your employees connected, announced the results of its national employee survey, Employee Productivity & Engagement During Covid-19. The findings provide insight into the productivity and engagement levels of those who have been working from home since the pandemic started, and the challenges they’ve encountered. Additionally, the results reveal insights into how connected workers feel to their colleagues while working remotely, what they need in order to be more successful in working from home, and how working from home has positively impacted their lives. Some key highlights are:

• 80% say Zoom fatigue is not distracting them from being productive
• 61% of those who say they are not at all productive and engaged are looking for news jobs, vs. 33% of those who say they are very productive and engaged
• The virtual social activities that employees are most interested in being provided with include something related to mental well being (meditation, stress management, etc.), learning new skills to use at home (cooking, crafts, etc.), and fun experiences (virtual happy hours, trivia challenges, etc.)

The Hybrid Workforce is Here to Stay
There is no question that COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of the hybrid workforce. While roughly 40% of people already worked from home full-time and will continue to do so, 35% plan to work remotely two days a week once COVID-19 is over. This is an increase of 12% from the 23% that did so before the pandemic.

However, remote work doesn’t come without challenges. Considering all of the difficulties those surveyed face, 52% said they feel less connected to their colleagues, 43% claimed they don’t have the best at-home office set up, and 40% said they feel less productive. Yet workers feel there are various things that employers can do to help them overcome the challenges of working remotely and feel more connected and engaged with their coworkers. The top solutions include:

• Incentives designed to specifically help them maintain a healthy work-life balance (40%)
• Rewards from their managers/employers (39%)
• Company-supplied equipment or an equipment stipend (39%), and
• Virtual social activities with colleagues (37%)

How Productive & Engaged Are We During COVID-19? And Why?
Achieving high levels of employee productivity and engagement tends to be one of the top priorities for every company but determining what really impacts it can be elusive. Right now, 62% of those surveyed feel moderately or very productive, and 55% feel moderately or very engaged in their jobs right now, while 3% of those surveyed feel not at all productive, and 5% feel not at all engaged with their job right now.

Of those who are both moderately or very productive and engaged at work, whether or not their company offers opportunities to engage with colleagues makes a difference. 62% said their company did this frequently or very frequently prior to COVID-19, and 57% say their company has been frequently or very frequently offering these social opportunities virtually during COVID-19.

This isn’t the case for those who are not at all productive or engaged at work. 53% say their company infrequently or very infrequently offered opportunities to engage with colleagues socially at work prior to COVID-19, and this number dropped more than 20% to 71% for offering social opportunities virtually during COVID-19.

“The insights from the survey data not only validate the value of non-work moments and interactions with colleagues but magnify the incredible shift workers have had to make in the last eight months in trying to stay connected to their co-workers. Employees not only want to be seen and heard by their team members more than ever before, but they want to feel connected to them as well,” says Sammy Courtright, co-founder and chief brand officer, Ten Spot. “What makes Ten Spot different is it helps companies provide their employees with fun and engaging virtual events so they can disconnect from work and reconnect with each other, something that is so important right now.”

And, the connections may not just be important for productivity and engagement at work, but when it comes to the overall health and well being of employees as well. Looking at the same groups, those who are high on the productivity and engagement spectrum say what’s personally impacting them from being more productive is they are not exercising enough (31%), political and current events (29%), worry about themselves or a family member contracting COVID-19 (28%), their stress levels (28%), and spotty Internet/Wifi access (28%).

There may be a bigger cause for concern with employees who are on the unproductive and unengaged end of the spectrum beyond their work performance. The reasons this group gave about what’s impacting them from being more productive are likely also impacting their mental and physical health. The number one reason is that they are not sleeping well (58%), followed by concerns about their mental health (47%), being bored (45%), wanting to take a nap during the day (45%), not exercising enough (45%), and their stress levels (45%).

The Good, the Bad, and the Not Such a Big Deal After All
Distractions, challenges, and concerns. While these are already something that might impact us from being productive and engaged at work during normal times, these aren’t normal times. The top three things people feel are interfering with being engaged and productive on the job while doing it from home include not exercising as much as they should be (34%), being concerned about their stress level (32%), and not eating as healthily as they should be (32%).

Having to work remotely hasn’t been all bad though. Sixty percent say the main benefit has been not having to commute anymore, 55% say it’s been being able to dress more comfortably and not have to deal with hair/makeup/shaving every day, and 50% like having more time to spend with their families.

Here’s what’s not as big of a deal as it seems to be. Only 25% of respondents cite having children at home that need attention as a distraction from work. Additionally, Zoom fatigue appears to be a myth, as only 20% say they have too many Zoom/video calls.

Survey Methodology
Ten Spot conducted it’s Employee Engagement & Productivity During Covid-19 Survey with 2,000 people who have been working from home since the pandemic began between October 26 and October 27, 2020. The margin of error is +/- 2.08%.

Ten Spot is the workforce engagement platform that keeps your employees connected to each other – wherever they are. Its innovative software combines live and on-demand content with sophisticated tools that help companies measure employee engagement and sentiment. Ten Spot helps employees bond, chat, and connect with each other.

Companies that use Ten Spot have a dedicated space for socializing, sparking relationships, enhancing teamwork, and building and maintaining a strong company culture, helping improve productivity and reduce employee burnout. Ten Spot is designed to give every employee the same experience, no matter where they’re based, to more easily build team cohesion across multiple locations, time zones, and work styles.