Quinyx survey report reveals the plight of deskless workers in the U.S. before and after the pandemic
In March, 2020, before the unprecedented layoffs of American workers, Quinyx, a provider of workforce management solutions, surveyed 1,200 deskless workers in the U.S. The survey aimed to identify how work schedules, pay, illness and time off, and communication affected their health and personal lives.
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After COVID-19 became a full-blown pandemic, in April 2020, Quinyx conducted a second survey to identify how deskless workers had been affected and how their sentiment changed during the pandemic. The findings have been published in a report titled 2020 State of the Deskless WorkforceOpens a new window , released on June 4, 2020.
State of the Deskless Workforce in March 2020
• 74% of deskless workers chose to report to work in spite of sickness, possibly due to lack of flexibility or paid time off
• Only 13% stated that they had any sick leave
• 47% worried about getting fired if they rescheduled their shift
• 66% had to skip sleep, meals, or their hobbies due to inflexible working shifts
• 70% of workers could not attend any social gatherings or functions due to heavy workload (primarily Gen Zers)
• 49% complained about having to miss major milestones like weddings or funerals (primarily millennials)
• 85% of deskless workers reported that their employers contacted them even outside working hours
• 25% deskless workers felt uncomfortable discussing how their schedule was affecting their personal life with their managers
• 35% reported that they were uncomfortable discussing the impact of their working conditions on their physical and mental health
• 33% were uncomfortable discussing pay raises and wage disparities
• 25% felt they couldn’t discuss a loss or increase in work hours with their managers
The Impact of COVID-19 on the Lives of Deskless Workers
• 14% of deskless workers still went to work while sick, and 48% of them did so to avoid losing pay
• 63% of workers in hotel and food services and 53% in retail – industries where they regularly come in contact with customers – were found to be most likely to show up to work even when sick
• Employees continued to have trouble communicating with their employers as before:
o 19% hesitated to ask their employers what to do if they felt sick
o 20% were uncomfortable voicing their concerns about working during the pandemic
o 25% hesitated to ask about compensation or job security
• 35% of workers said their employers did not suitably train them, while 14% of them say they received no training at all
Additional Findings of the Report
• Prior to the pandemic, deskless workers had to take up multiple jobs to meet ends and their employers did not value their work, which makes them feel disposable
• After the outbreak of the pandemic, many disposable workers had lost their jobs. Many of them demand aim to find jobs that offer better benefits and job security
• Deskless workers felt invisible before presidential candidates, claiming that the latter did not address the former’s issues of the deskless workers before and after the COVID-19 outbreak
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The issues deskless workers – or essential workers – have been facing has been a topic of discussion since the outbreak. As the report suggests, a majority of them have had issues with pay and health in this crisis. It appears that their essentialness is at loggerheads with the employee experience that all organizations are expected to provide, pandemic or not, crisis or not. Post COVID-19, these employers will have to rethink the treatment of their deskless workers and provide a safe place for them to work.
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