PHILADELPHIA, PA – According to a new survey of nearly 1,000 full/part time employed Americans conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Yoh, a leading international talent and outsourcing company and part of Day & Zimmermann, a majority of employed Americans (62%) say they would consider changing jobs during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak if they felt their current company was not doing enough to protect their employees (e.g., providing hand sanitizer, allowing employees to work from home, enforcing social distancing).

51% of Employed Americans Say They Would Consider Changing Jobs During COVID-19 Outbreak to Work for a Company Actively Making a Difference

Of the employed Americans surveyed, a majority (51%) would consider changing jobs during the COVID-19 outbreak to work for a company that is actively making a difference to help the situation (e.g., adapting its capabilities to help create supplies currently in demand, donating money). Just under half of employed Americans (47%) say working in the current COVID-19 outbreak has made them reconsider if they’re in the right job.

“These survey results tell us an important story about not just how employed Americans feel about their jobs during an unprecedented crisis but how it impacts those companies looking to hire,” said Emmett McGrath, President of Yoh. “These results show that it’s more critical than ever that companies looking to hire show the steps they’re taking – and have historically taken – to care for their employees’ well-being.

“To survive COVID-19 and the new normal we face once the pandemic ends, companies must show they’re protecting employees with recommended safety measures, competitive benefits and open avenues of communication.”

See the infographic below for an overview.

Additional findings of this survey include:

• Younger employed Americans are more open to job changes than their older counterparts. Of those 44 and under, 69% say they would consider changing jobs during the coronavirus outbreak if they felt their current company was not doing enough to protect employees. For those 45 and older, only 52% agree.
  
  
• Those with children in the household more open to job changes and interested in corporate responsibility compared to those without children at home.
  • 66% of those with children in the household vs. 58% without would consider changing jobs during the coronavirus outbreak if they felt their current company was not doing enough to protect their employees.
  • 57% of those with children in the household vs. 56% without would consider changing jobs during the coronavirus outbreak to work for a company that is actively making a difference to help the situation.
  • 54% of those with children in the household vs. 40% without say working in the current COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has made them reconsider if they are in the right job.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Yoh from April 8-10, 2020 among 993 U.S. adults ages 18 and older employed full/part time. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Joe McIntyre at joe@gobraithwaite.com.