RALEIGH – Most North Carolina employers have embraced changes in requirements for their employees – from relaxed attendance procedures to remote working with some making changes in compensation – up and down, according to a new survey from Capital Associated Industries, a human resources training, consulting and management firm.
While layoffs and furloughs have captured much of the media attention, numerous other changes are taking place. And companies will have to continue to adjust to a “new normal” as COVID-19 drags on with a possible second wave on the horizon. So says Molly Hegemen, CAI’s Vice President, Membership & HR Services.
“The biggest thing for organizations is you are going to have to look at policies and practices in a different way. The situation is going to demand it,” Hegemen tells WRAL TechWire.
“The need to keep people safe and comfortable in their workspace might mean that organizations have to do some kind of blending of what we used to know in the office with working remote.”
In a survey of 647 responses from across the state, CAI finds that:
- More than 70% of respondents have changed their remote work policies
- 55% have incorporated modified or flexible work schedules
- 41% have relaxed their attendance guidelines and policies
Nearly 1 million North Carolinians have lost their jobs during the pandemic. But many who have continued to work have still been affected. The survey found that:
- 8% have eliminated bonuses for most or all employees
- Salaries for nearly 15% of employees have been cut
- More than 61% have kept compensation the same
- Only 11% have increased compensation for some or all employees
- Some 21% have made changes in sick leave and paid time off policies
Just 12 percent of companies reported making no changes even as North Carolina businesses have been operating under “stay at home” guidelines as ordered by Gov. Roy Cooper.
Those orders led to:
- 21% of respondents say all employees work from home
- 68% report their employees are assigned to a mix of office and work-from-home
- Only 7 percent say all employees are still working onsite.
However, despite the change to work-from-home, respondents told CAI that “policies including cell phone and internet reimbursement, outplacement services and severance pay remain largely unchanged.”
Hegemen says that the speed at which the pandemic affected businesses is a big difference from the 2008-9 recession.
“The circumstances are different from the 2008-9 recession vs. the pandemic but there was a period of time in which it took a while to catch up with the reality of the financial implications to the organization,” she explains.
“It took some time in the great recession for companies to understand the implications to their company and I think the same thing is going to happen here.”
CAI graphic
