Eight in 10 workers (81%) say their employer has done a good job of supporting them over the past year, but many have reported a decline in their job satisfaction and work-life balance.
A quarter of employees wanted help with their mental wellbeing, while 17% needed help in adjusting to a return to the office in future, a survey commissioned by employee benefits firm Edenred found.
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Almost two-thirds (64%) of the 2,000 people polled worked at home in the past 12 months – double the level identified in a poll in early 2020. Some 61% said they had worked outside their normal hours.
On the whole, employees were satisfied with the support given for managing work-life balance (73%), collaborative working (72%) and physical wellbeing (71%).
The results were published in a report called “Power up your people: Your blueprint for peak performance in 2021”.
Alisdair Seenan, HR director at Edenred UK, said: “The coming weeks are a critical period for employers who want to ensure their people and their organisations are in the best place to thrive as we emerge from lockdown.
“Having done a good job of getting our people through the last 12 months, we now need to act fast to ensure that whatever model of working your organisation embraces, you have the right policy, working practices and tools to meet the changing needs of your people.
“With our research finding that 29% of employees feel more positive about their organisation as a result of actions they took in the past year and 24% saying they were more likely to go the extra mile, it is clear that employers who invest in supporting their people will be rewarded with engaged and motivated teams.”
Nikki Thorpe, director of people and culture at workforce management platform Planday said: “During the pandemic it has become increasingly difficult to offer the usual support services to staff, but it is crucial that businesses adapt the way they support their team, especially as lockdowns continue for the foreseeable period.
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“Whether it’s working from home, furloughed staff or changes in schedules for shift workers, it’s vital leaders change the way we support the team. Happy employees perform better, so it is crucial to provide your team with mental health support and this will inevitably increase employee satisfaction too.
“There are many ways to support staff, such as changing a rota to assist extra flexibility for staff with school-aged children right now, or respecting employee’s different working from home schedules and providing advance notification of shift changes or upcoming priorities.”
