Adapting to the Reimagined Workplace: Human Capital Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Adapting to the Reimagined Workplace: Human Capital Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

30 October 2020 / Report

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In April 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic, The Conference Board launched its first survey tracking human capital (HC) responses to COVID-19. We published From Immediate Responses to Planning for the Reimagined Workplace: Human Capital Responses to COVID-19 in May. What most of us had hoped would be short-term responses to the pandemic have evolved to have long-term repercussions on both the workplace and the workforce.

In April 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic, The Conference Board launched its first survey tracking human capital (HC) responses to COVID-19. We published From Immediate Responses to Planning for the Reimagined Workplace: Human Capital Responses to COVID-19 in May. What most of us had hoped would be short-term responses to the pandemic have evolved to have long-term repercussions on both the workplace and the workforce.

To understand how organizations are continuing to react to the changing business environment in the context of their workplaces and workforces, The Conference Board repeated the online survey in September 2020 with 330 HC executives, mostly in large companies. The accompanying chart book shares the survey findings about remote work and hiring, productivity and well-being, workforce cost-reduction actions, and plans for returning to the workplace.

Insights for What’s Ahead

More employees will work primarily from home (at least three days per week) after COVID-19. In our April report, we described the accelerated shift to remote work as one of the main legacies of the COVID-19 pandemic. The September survey makes us even more convinced of this conclusion. Just 4 percent of respondents reported that 40 percent or more of their employees were working remotely prior to the pandemic. Now, 34 percent expect that 40 percent or mor

Authors

Frank Steemers

Frank Steemers Frank Steemers

Former Senior Economist
The Conference Board

Read Bio

Robin Erickson, PhD

Robin Erickson, PhD Robin Erickson, PhD

Head of Human Capital Research
The Conference Board

Read Bio

Amanda Popiela

Amanda Popiela Amanda Popiela

Former Researcher, Human Capital
The Conference Board

Read Bio

Gad Levanon, PhD

Gad Levanon, PhD Gad Levanon, PhD

Former Vice President, Labor Markets
The Conference Board

Read Bio

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