One in four employees say they need mental health support in 2021 after working through the pandemic, research shows.
A third of employees are unhappy in their job – “largely thanks to ‘hybrid working’”, while over half of UK employees think that HR policy and benefits are “out of step” with the needs of new working models.
But the vast majority of employees (81%) said their employer did a good job of supporting them through the pandemic.
The OnePoll study of 2,000 UK employees found that as nearly two thirds of employees (64%) worked from home in the last 12 months – double the level reported at the beginning of 2020 – a similar number (61%) worked outside of their normal hours.
As a result of the pandemic, employees reported a fall in job satisfaction (35%), concerns about job security (31%) and dissatisfaction in their work-life balance (27%).
Alisdair Seenan, HR director at Edenred UK, which commissioned the poll, said the coming weeks are “a critical period” for employers who want to ensure their people and their organisations are “in the best place to thrive” as we emerge from lockdown.
Seenan said: “Having done a good job of getting our people through the last 12 months, we now need to act fast to ensure that whatever model of working your organisation embraces, you have the right policy, working practices and tools to meet the changing needs of your people.”