85% HR Professionals Report Rise In Workload Due To Pandemic: Report
250+ HR senior and mid-level leaders participated in a survey conducted to capture their experiences over the last eighteen months conducted by YourDOST in collaboration with National HRD Network and Great Place to Work® India.
YourDOST, a holistic emotional wellness organisation, has released a report in collaboration with NHRD and Great Place to Work® India. The report is based on a survey covering 250+ Human Resource professionals, across India. 76 per cent of HR professionals believe that the pandemic led to a rise in the importance of the HR function. 96 per centagree that their leaders understand the importance of the HR function for a business.
The report titled ‘The Changing Landscape Of People Management – an HR perspective’ discusses the pandemic impact on the workforce in terms of attrition, new hire, employee engagement, and how organisations tackled it. Considering the impact on the health of the employees, the report highlights the introduction and bolstering of wellness initiatives as a key priority for organisations.
Pandemic impact on the workforce:
The next wave hitting the corporates globally is ‘The Great Resignation,’ wherein employees voluntarily leave their jobs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 52 per cent of HR professionals surveyed have also seen an uptick in employee attrition in their organisations. One of the other impacts of remote working has been burnout, with over 70 per cent of respondents seeing a jump in levels at their organisations. One of the most essential aspects of the pandemic, which is here to stay, has been remote working and its challenges with employee engagement. 57 per cent of HR professionals found it challenging to instil company values among new hires. It is not that cultural beliefs and values are not being reinforced. Organisations need to re-imagine the systems and processes in a remote and hybrid setup for the new hires experience and imbibe the values. Nearly 46 per cent of survey respondents state that employee engagement has fallen in their respective organizations.
Impact on HR Community
HRM personnel have played a critical role during the pandemic in ensuring the wellbeing of the workforce. 85 per cent of HR professionals report a rise in their workload because of the pandemic. Remote Working/Coordination, Increased Health Concerns, Business performance were the top 3 reasons that stood out for the increase in workload.
The survey shows that employee wellness is an integral part of HRM in organisations. With the hybrid culture coming in, HR personnel is prioritizing Employee Insurance, Rewards and Recognition, and Employee Mental Health. 41 per cent of the respondents identified the introduction or increase of Wellness Services for Employees as a step taken to overcome pandemic challenges at their workplace.
Corporates have already taken to emotional wellness programs for their employees. YourDOST added over 200 new corporates in the last 1 year itself and witnessed a triple-fold jump in the utilisation of services from employees.
The focus on Employee well-being is among a few positive changes that the pandemic has induced. Our annual research identified Employee Wellbeing as a key differentiator for Best Workplaces in India and Asia and these organisations have focused on creating cultures that ensure a healthier and happier workforce. It is heartening to see that Leaders at the best workplaces have it among their top two priorities. This is definitely a strong step for India Inc. said Preeti Malhotra, Practice Head – Wellness and Partnerships at Great Place to Work® India.
