Report: How Engaged are Employees During COVID-19?
Institute for Public Relations and Leger
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Across Canada and the United States, many employees’ working arrangements, including how they interact with their organizations, employers, and colleagues, have shifted rapidly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In early May 2020, Leger and the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), conducted an online survey among 1,526 Canadian and 1,004 American employees (those who are not unemployed, furloughed, or laid off due to COVID-19) to explore:
- How various attributes (including their productivity, collaboration with coworkers, satisfaction with their company, etc.) have changed since COVID-19.
- How effectively various company leaders and teams are communicating updates and information to them during COVID-19.
- How often they are currently speaking to their direct supervisor/manager (via phone, video conference, or face-to-face), compared to before COVID-19, as previous IPR research with Peppercomm has found the importance of effective internal communication during the pandemic.
The main key findings from this study include:
- In both the U.S. and Canada, two-thirds of employees said their work productivity has stayed the same during COVID-19, while at least 1-in-5 experienced decreases, and 1-in-10 experienced increases.
- Three-quarters of employees said their relationship with their company stayed the same during COVID-19. U.S. employees were more likely to experience slight increases in satisfaction, trust, and engagement with the company, while Canadian employees were more likely to experience decreases.
- About two-thirds of employees in both the U.S. and Canada said collaboration with co-workers stayed the same, while at least 1-in-5 said it decreased.
- U.S. employees (58%) were more likely to say their company was doing “very good” or “excellent” at communicating information and updates to them than Canadian employees (54%). U.S. employees (54%) were also more likely to say the same about their CEO than Canadian employees (45%).
Read the full report and learn what employees' attitudes are toward their work and their company, how well companies are communicating information and updates, and more.
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Lessons Earned: When Taking Control Hinders More Than It Helps
Brian Lott, IPR Trustee, Mubadala Investment Company
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In partnership with
PR News, “Lessons Earned”
is a series featuring IPR Trustees discussing a hard-fought lesson or triumph that helped to mold or change their career.
I began my career on Capitol Hill after graduating from university. I worked for a congressman opening constituent mail, giving tours of the U.S. Capitol and answering phones.
After a year or so I flirted with the idea of working in the diplomatic corps. Eventually I decided to take the Foreign Service exam. It consisted of two parts: a written test, and an oral exam, which included an interactive session with current and former Foreign Service officers. Passing this test meant you advanced to the next stage: an interview with a senior diplomat.
On the day of the exam I felt very confident about the written test, as the questions aligned with many of my interests. A friend had taken the exam a year prior and suggested during the interactive session – where you sit with other students and act out a scenario in front of the judges – that I should be the “one who grabs the pencil,” taking charge of tasks and leading the discussion.
Read the rest of Brian Lott's blog to find out how understanding that communicating your true and natural self can be a core leadership skill in itself.
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Using Expert Sources to Correct Health Misinformation in Social Media
Emily Vraga, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, & Lars Bode, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
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Dr. Emily Vraga and Dr. Lars Bode conducted a study to examine how people corrected their own misinformed beliefs after seeing others corrected on social media, and the role of source credibility in all this.
The researchers presented 1,384 participants with a simulated Twitter feed that contained a false story about the Zika virus. The story was accompanied by a correction provided by a random user, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), or both. All corrections contained the same information. Participants’ misperceptions about the Zika virus were tested before and after viewing the Twitter feeds.
Some key findings include:
- People reduce their belief in misinformation after seeing others being corrected on social media by expert sources, like well-respected government organizations.
- Additional corrections from random users appear to slightly reduce the effect of corrections from expert sources.
- Observing corrections from a single random user will likely not have an effect on misperceptions. Multiple corrections may be needed to leverage social norms.
- Engaging in refutations of misinformation on social media does not appear to negatively impact reputation. More experts should consider engaging with audiences to tackle misinformation.
Read more to learn how to address misinformation on social media and how using credible sources online can help correct people's misperceptions.
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Bridging the Divide: A Multidisciplinary Analysis of Diversity Research and the Implications for Public Relations
Dean E. Mundy, Ph.D., University of Oregon
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Dean Mundy, Ph.D., at the University of Oregon reviews diversity-focused research in public relations to identify the key findings, trends, remaining gaps, and best practices regarding how public relations theory and practice can better reflect a diversity focus.
The meta-analysis also includes literature focused on diversity in organizational management and organizational psychology. The report states that public relations research focused on diversity often falls into three main categories: diversity in the public relations workplace; how organizations are leveraging public relations to reach and engage diverse stakeholders; and the growing call for better connection between diversity and daily public relations practice through a multicultural perspective.
Key findings include:
- Racial and ethnic representation has improved, but access to management remains limited.
- Leadership must reflect diversity; they must be visibly involved and accountable.
- Diversity must become central to, not distinct from, daily public relations practice.
- Diverse cultural dynamics should be central to organizational values and, in turn, the communication planning process.
- In order to reach diverse publics, priority should be given to the public over the organization.
Read more to learn about diversity-focused public relations research and the best practices it provides.
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Do Remote Employees Prefer Different Types of Appreciation Than Employees in Face-to-Face Settings?
Paul White, Ph.D, Appreciation at Work
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Paul White, Ph.D., explored whether employees who work remotely have different preferred languages of appreciation than those working in the face-to-face settings. Communicating appreciation is considered one of the 12 core elements that increase employee engagement. It is also identified as the most important factor associated with employees enjoying their job. However, expressing appreciation is not a common practice between coworkers or between managers and subordinates.
White sampled 2,640 participants who work remotely and 86,393 individuals who work onsite from 2014 to 2018 and studied several forms/languages of appreciation, including: words of affirmation (using different channels to communicate praise); quality time (hanging out with coworkers, scheduling a call to chat about non-work-related topics); acts of service (scheduling a call or meeting when it is convenient for coworkers); and tangible gifts.
Some key findings from this research include:
- 98% of respondents said it is possible to effectively communicate appreciation to colleagues who work remotely.
- Additionally, 70% indicated that they personally have received a message of appreciation from a colleague or supervisor within a remote working relationship.
- 81% reported that they have communicated appreciation to a co-worker who works in a remote location.
- Both teleworkers and onsite workers prefer words of affirmation the most often, followed by quality time, acts of service, and tangible gifts.
- More teleworkers (35%) chose quality time as their preferred way of being appreciated compared to workers on site (25%).
- 38% of teleworkers chose words of affirmation or acts of service as their primary language of appreciation compared to 48% of workers on site.
Read more to learn how different work environments impact how employees prefer appreciation.
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Experiences with the COVID-19 Pandemic Can Vary for Americans of Different Ages
Katherine Schaeffer and Lee Rainie, Pew Research Center
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Data was collected from March 19th to May 5, 2020.
Some key findings include:
- 49% of those 65 and older said that COVID-19 is a major threat to their health. But fewer in this age group – 32% – say it is a major threat to their personal finances (see image).
- Four-in-ten adults ages 18 to 29 say the pandemic is a major threat to their financial situation, and 26% say it is a threat to their health. Those ages 30 to 49 are 9 percentage points more likely to say the pandemic is a major threat to their finances than to say it is a major threat to their health (43% vs. 34%).
- 54% of those ages 18 to 29 and 49% of those 30 to 49 said they or someone in their household had experienced job or wage loss because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This compares with 42% of those ages 50 to 64 and a quarter of those 65 and older.
- One-quarter of workers ages 16 to 24 have lost their jobs during the COVID-19 downturn, according to a Center analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
- 62% of adults under 30 said the internet has been essential to them during the pandemic, while 65% of adults ages 30 to 49 felt this way. This compares with about half (49%) of those ages 50 to 64 and 31% of those 65 and older.
Read more to discover the eight findings of how COVID-19 impacts Americans differently due to age.
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