‘COVID-19 crisis has created an unprecedented leadership challenge’

-

'COVID-19 crisis has created an unprecedented leadership challenge'

A third of employees have no faith in their leaders to help navigate them through the COVID-19 crisis.

This is according to the report ‘UK PLC: How the workforce is feeling during the coronavirus crisis’ published by Karian and Box, an employee research and analytics business which found that despite many businesses being effective in keeping employees informed and providing the systems and processes required for the change in working practice. Employees still feel they need more help from their leaders to help to adjust to this new way of working and living.

The company has described this as a “support gap” where workers need more assistance from their leaders. If left alone this gap could have an adverse effect on productivity.

HRreview Logo

Get our essential weekday HR news and updates.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Keep up with the latest in HR...
This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is hidden when viewing the form
Optin_date
This field is hidden when viewing the form

 

James Tarbit, MD at Karian and Box said:

The crisis has created an unprecedented leadership challenge. Like everyone else, business leaders are adjusting to challenges they’ve never faced before. While we should definitely acknowledge the work being done to communicate and conduct business remotely, employers need to ensure they keep the needs of their workforce front of mind. By listening to their employees, leaders can ensure their teams enter this next phase focused, energised and determined to help their businesses through the recovery. People are already rethinking business-as-usual working patterns with one in four keen to explore remote working as a new normal. This was highlighted in our research as one of the top 10 questions UK employees want answered in the wake of Covid-19.

Back in March, Lewis Silkin, a law firm found that 59 per cent of HR leaders have confirmed they have implemented a plan to address pandemic diseases such as COVID-19 whereas 11 per cent had no plans to implement such a policy. However, Incomes Data Research (IDR) found that only 4 per cent of companies have the ability for their entire workforce to work from home. Remote working tends to be available for roughly a quarter of the workforce.

 This report is based on 76,558 responses to employee surveys between 9 March and 6 May 2020. 

Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.

Latest news

Sustainable business starts with people, not HR policies

Why long-term success depends on supporting employees, not just meeting ESG targets, with practical steps for leaders to build healthier organisations.

Hiring steadies but Gulf crisis threatens recovery in UK jobs market

UK hiring shows signs of stabilising, but rising global uncertainty linked to the Gulf crisis is weighing on employer confidence and delaying recovery.

Women ‘face career setback’ risk with flexible working

Female staff using remote or reduced-hour arrangements more likely to move into lower-status roles, raising concerns about bias in career progression.

Jo Kansagra: Make work benefits work for Gen Z

Gen Z employees are entering the workforce at full steam, and yet many workplace benefits schemes are firmly stuck in the past.
- Advertisement -

Union access plans risk straining workplace relations, CIPD warns

Proposed rules on workplace access raise concerns about employer readiness and operational strain.

Petra Wilton on managers struggling with new workplace laws

“Managers are not being given the tools they need to fully understand how the rules of the workplace are changing.”

Must read

Melissa Whiting: Why it’s time to give women the chance to lead the world

"These are not issues of gender or diversity; they’re ones of humanity."

Chris Norris: How can HR become the ‘go to’ for the ‘me too’ movement?

Chris Norris, CFI and Director of Wickander-Zulawski asks: are HR professionals equipped for that ‘difficult conversation’?
- Advertisement -

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you