Applied Research Conference 2022

Attending the CIPD’s 2022 Applied Research Conference gave me an opportunity to relate my experience of the current employee engagement landscape, gained from working with The Survey Initiative, to the wider picture as experienced by researchers in other organisations and institutions.  Of course, the impact of coronavirus on the workplace was one of the main topics of conversation throughout the whole conference.  Much interesting research into the effect of the pandemic on working patterns and engagement has been undertaken over the past two years and it is interesting to reflect the extent to which these findings have been replicated in The Survey Initiative’s own surveys.

Diverse pandemic employee engagement experiences

It’s striking how diverse employees’ engagement experiences of the pandemic have been.  Depending on their preferred working method, stage of life or personality, two people in the same role at the same organisation may have had completely different experiences.

Taking management as an example, many employees have seen remote working as a relief from the micromanagement they have experienced in the office, as their managers have been forced to take a more hands-off approach.  In contrast, some employees report feeling more micromanaged during remote working, as there is a stronger pressure to be available and in front of the screen at all times.  We have noted some of this polarisation in feeling in the responses to our surveys over the period, especially around productivity and working hours.

Many employees are more productive without the distractions of an office environment, and they enjoy the time gained from not having to commute.  However, in some organisations this has led to an expectation that employees will work longer hours, and with many organisations finding themselves short on staff, managing workloads has been a particular problem for many employees over the pandemic.

Working style autonomy

The fact that the pandemic has affected people so differently may be having an effect on the way personal preferences are considered when designing roles.  When working remotely or to their own schedules, employees have gravitated towards their own working styles and employers are coming to realise the beneficial effect that this kind of autonomy can have on productivity as well as employees’ own wellbeing and work-life balance.

This also applies to arrangements such as part-time work.  With many employees being offered flexible furlough or given more time off, such as for childcare reasons, some organisations are now starting to reflect this in their hiring policies:  there is a greater recognition that, for example, two employees working part-time could fulfil a role previously held by one employee.  This has obvious potential for improving work-life balance for those with time-consuming commitments outside work, especially if they are also able to work from home.

Historically, employers have tended to assume that employees will or will not want to work part-time, depending on the industry, but the experience of the pandemic has told many organisations that their perceptions were not necessarily correct.

What does the future hold?

The long-term impact of these changes remains to be seen, but it is clear that there is now a greater expectation amongst employees that autonomy and flexibility will be built into roles.  This may reflect a desire amongst employees to embrace these ways of working that was present before the pandemic, but is only now being seriously considered in many organisations.

However, with some roles being less suitable for flexible working, such as public-facing and safety-critical roles, there is a concern that this could lead to more polarisation in the workforce between those who can work flexibly and those who cannot.

As employee researchers, it will be very interesting to see how these employee engagement trends develop over the next few years.

To learn more about how our employee surveys, 360 feedback surveys or general employee survey services can help understand what’s going on in your organisation, contact our expert team today.