Most younger employees believe social interaction is critical for their career progression.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected a professional’s life in many ways. Remote work was only one aspect employees and organizations had to deal with. Employees also had to cope with Opens a new window =”nofollow noopener” title=”Opens a new window” target=”_blank”>longer work hoursOpens a new window , increased stress levels, loss of a community, and balancing their personal and professional lives. How did the pandemic affect their career progression?
BambooHR recently surveyed more than 1,000 remote employees and released the COVID-19 & Careers: The Effect of the Pandemic on Career Progression reportOpens a new window . The report shows that more than three-fourths of remote workers (78%) feel their career was negatively impacted over the last year by the pandemic. Further, a significant number also noted that experienced pay raise or promotion freezes during the previous year.
The following are a few more findings from the survey in detail.
Also read: The Top 3 Recruitment Trends for 2021: CareerArc Releases New Data
1. Most Employees Feel Their Career Progression Was Hit
Career progression may mean taking a step backward or being stalled. The study showed that a significant number of remote employees (36%) felt their careers took a hit last year due to the pandemic. Most of them (78%) pointed to burnout (25%) and balancing home and/or family life (25%) as the top factors stalling their career progression. Further, about 36% of the respondents experienced their pay raise or promotions freeze during the last year.
At the end of the day, one major effect of a stalled career is lost wages. On average, remote workers estimate they lost out on more than $9,800 due to promotion and pay freezes last year.
What is worse is that their career progression was not stalled due to lack of work; most employees put in extra hours. More than a third of the respondents worked even on days off just to stay on top of their work, let alone gain promotions or pay raises.
2. Working Harder Led to High Levels of Burnout
The survey found that most of the respondents felt burned out at least every month (79%) and more than half felt burned out every single week (53%). About 56% of remote workers said they felt totally tied to their computer and desk last year. Work-life balance seems to have been significantly impacted when working remotely.
Respondents cited three major reasons for burnout:
- “Always-on†remote work culture/expectations
- Juggling additional responsibilities at home/personal life
- Juggling additional responsibilities outside the job description
The combination of remote work, mobile devices, and always-on culture have put pressure on many employees to be available to their colleagues and customers almost round-the-clock. This has also resulted in people taking vacations just to be pulled back into work. About 11% said they took a day off from work last year just to get caught up with work.
Undoubtedly, increased burnout levels are taking a toll on employee mental health, particularly on the younger generation.
3. Employees of Different Racial Backgrounds and Generations Feel Differently About Their Career Progression
It was interesting to see that remote employees of different racial backgrounds feel differently about their career progression. For example, people of color (POC) felt they made career progress last year at a significantly higher rate. About 76% of Black Americans felt like they made career progress in a year compared to 65% of Hispanic/Latinx, 60% Asians, and 59% of White Americans.