COVID-19 Might Change the Workforce

As the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, the world officially hit a crisis that no one was ready for. It has revealed the good, the bad, and the ugly side of companies from all around the world.

With the condition of the Philippines, enforcing an enhanced community quarantine has been extra challenging. As our country has seen, mandatory home quarantine is not feasible for every industry.

Daily wage earners were left no choice but to stay home with limited resources to provide for their family. Healthcare workers have been obliged to report to hospitals despite the health risks. Other employees have been forced to go on no work, no pay holidays.

Since the implementation of community quarantine, we have already seen drastic changes in the workforce. Online job portal JobStreet.com believes there will be many changes that are bound to stick as we take on learnings from this outbreak.

Here’s what companies can look forward to after this pandemic is over.

More companies will consider the work-from-home option

Remote work is the future—and we are seeing it now more than ever. Because of the mandatory home quarantine, most companies have been forced to shift their gears and adopt digital ways.

Telecommunication has become a practice for most industries. This pushes through the desire of 47.8% of Filipino employees who, based on data from JobStreet Laws of Attraction Data Lab, want the option to work from home.

Employees will start looking for additional benefits

With our situation, there are evident problems in certain industries that could not shift to remote work. Namely, industries like BPO, Manufacturing, Retail, Healthcare, and Food and Beverage have needed to continue operations just to give us much-needed services. Since there are barely any digital solutions for these industries, the best thing companies can do is provide better benefits for their workers.

Aside from mandatory government benefits, medical and insurance coverage for both the employee and their families is a must—especially for those who cannot afford to work from home.

Based on JobStreet Laws of Attraction Data Lab, Filipino workers find mandatory government benefits (94.6%) and insurance (84.6%) as essential compensations. Meanwhile, 88.4% see double pay during public holidays, or in this case during calamities as a must-have.

Companies will start updating their leave policies

The lack of sick leaves has become a huge issue that came about with the COVID-19 outbreak. With Persons Under Monitoring (PUMs) needing to self-quarantine, most paid leaves have been used up even before symptoms arose.

Filipino employees want a company that has “excellent occupational safety and health reputation” or additional leave credits (63.2%). With all the things happening nowadays, companies who are considerate of their employees’ health and safety shine.

There are employers who are updating their leave policies to accommodate additional personal leaves for their employees. These leaves allow their workers to run emergency errands for their family members. Others simply update their leave application processes so that employees can take leaves without as many hassles.

More and more employers will revisit their CSR initiatives

According to the JobStreet Laws of Attraction Data Lab, 65.9% of Filipino employees want a company that “values and contributes to its people not just profits.”

We’ve seen that several conglomerates been in the limelight amid the COVID-19 pandemic, because they’ve exemplified high standards of corporate social responsibility. They hugely supported our frontliners and daily wage earners through donations and relief efforts.

While SMEs aren’t exactly in the same position as these conglomerates to provide magnanimously during crises, they can still use this opportunity to highlight their company’s mission and advocacies. If you own a small business, show the purpose behind your brand. Allow your employees to see how relevant their efforts are on the larger scale of things.

Nowadays, employees are watching how companies respond to the COVID-19 crisis. With this, it’s important that your company continues to make strides forward.

For more information about what drives Filipino employees, explore the JobStreet Laws of Attraction Data Lab. This database compiles surveys from more than 18,000 Filipino candidates across 25 industries, so that employers can better address their employees.