Employees are showing signs of feeling less connected to their leaders and teammates as the COVID-19 pandemic persists, according to Glint’s latest data insights report.

This month we plunged into the 5 million pandemic response-related data points we’ve collected via employee surveys to look at:

  • How employees feel about returning to the office
  • What employees’ needs are for working in the “new normal” 
  • The pandemic’s impact on employees’ connections with each other and people outside of work

One major theme: Though employees still feel largely positive about how their organization is handling the crisis, they are starting to show signs of pandemic fatigue. This month employees tended to answer less favorably to survey questions that measure employee distress, with the most marked decreases showing in the topics of communication and connection.

Connection takes a hit

Employees’ relationships both at work and outside of work continue to be impacted by shelter-in-place orders and ongoing remote-work arrangements.

Compared to their lives before the pandemic:

  • 31% of employees feel less connected to their leaders
  • 37% of employees feel less connected to their teammates
  • 40% of employees feel less connected to their friends

By contrast, 48% of employees report feeling more connected to their family members.

In a related point, many employees are interested in more employee-sponsored support for mental health and well-being. But we saw some differences among age groups, with 24-38-year-olds asking for it the most, while those 54 years of age and older asking for it the least.

There are tried-and-true ways organizations can help boost connection among their people.

“What do people need from their employer to remain happy, productive and successful during times of distress? The simple answer is: the same things they need all the time,” Glint Head of People Science Justin Black writes. “People want to feel valued and confident about the future of their organization, as well as their place in it. They also want to experience a sense of belonging, trust their leaders, be clear on where they should focus, and have a sense of stability in their work.” 

Flexible work arrangements will be key

In the new world of work, four out of five employees are interested in an arrangement that is not exclusively office-based.

Employees also cited more support for work-life balance and advancements in technology to facilitate connection as necessary components to the new world of work. 

To learn more about the findings, click the image below ⬇️. And check out our resources on building the new world of work as you reimagine your organization’s future.