What if the way we work has changed forever?

Salesforce has been asking corporate decision makers about their impressions during the pandemic. Here's what they answered.

The 2020 pandemic has upended our lives in every possible facet, and little of what we did in 2019 we will still be doing the same in 2021. That also includes how and where we work, as well as the skills we need on the job.

Fortune Analytics has come to some conclusions about how the pandemic is affecting workers during and after the crisis, based on data collected by Salesforce.

Since the beginning of May, Salesforce Research Consumer and Workforce Research has been publishing a series of biweekly surveys. The group Customer & Market Insights of the same company has regularly conducted surveys of decision-makers at the director level and above. Fortune Analytics has soaked up these reports to draw certain conclusions.

Raw data

  • 69% of U.S. workers think the pandemic will permanently change the nature of work in their own careers.
  • 59% of U.S. remote workers say they miss going to the office.
  • The 63% says they have become closer to their family during this time, and the 67% is interested in incorporating more remote work post-pandemic.
  • 50% of U.S. workers say they are considering a career change given their current job situation.
  • The 49% wants to work in a less volatile role or industry than the one in which he or she currently works.
  • 48% of business leaders think that technology spending in their company will increase due to the pandemic. Only 11% think technology spending will decrease.
  • 39% of U.S. adults felt isolated in July, down from 46% in May.
  • The 42% of the generation Z (born 1994 or later) felt isolated in July, the highest percentage of any generation, compared to 49% in May.
  • 22% of U.S. adults are extremely concerned about their physical health during the pandemic. 21% are extremely concerned about their mental health.

Data analysis

Americans feel that their working lives are not getting back to normal.. Nearly 7 in 10 U.S. workers believe the pandemic will permanently change their jobs. Half are considering a career change, and 2 in 3 are interested in incorporating more remote work after the pandemic.

Americans are worried about losing their jobs (59%), their physical health (82%), their mental health (68%) and their long-term finances (83%). This is causing them some unique stress levels in life.

With an unemployment rate they are not used to in the U.S. nearly 60% of U.S. adults are concerned about their job security.

What you can learn from the data

With citizens forced to stay at home longer, virtual presence has increased. Among U.S. adults, 47% spend more time online since the start of the pandemic, watch more streaming video (41%), shop more online (43%), and make greater use of social media (41%). So it's clear that your business, whenever it can, should go this route.

In a health crisis like this, people want their employers to thoroughly clean their offices if they intend to return. The 40% says that improved cleaning procedures would have a big impact on their decision to return, and the 35% said the same about daily health checks.

As consumers move online and the workforce remains telecommuting, companies have been forced to spend more on technology. And it doesn't look like spending on this chapter is going down as in early April, 19% of decision makers told Salesforce that they expected to cut back on technology spending in the future, but when asked again in July, only 11% still expected to do so. From this, it is clear that technology spending is going to continue to grow, making it a business opportunity.

Salesforce Research Consumer and Workforce Research has been publishing biweekly surveys of U.S. adults since the beginning of May. The most recent was conducted July 15-16, and received 1,044 U.S. adult respondents.
Salesforce's Customer & Market Insights group conducted four online surveys of its B2B audience of decision-makers or influencers on their company's software or business application issues. The final survey was conducted between June 30 and July 1 and received 170 respondents.
Cover image created by Samuel Rodriguez to support the campaign. Global Call Out To Creatives to stop UN COVID-19.

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