Policies for the post-pandemic world of work

The long game: Processing change and looking past COVID

The long-lasting effects of COVID-19 on our personal and professional lives have yet to be realised but are beginning to manifest to some degree. This is especially true in relation to changes in work environments and skills needed to thrive at work. The surveyed European workers revealed optimism about these aspects, when sharing their attitudes towards their professional futures. However, this positivity was tempered by concerns about the changes brought by the pandemic, focusing on those expected to outlast COVID-19.

Big-picture positivity about the future of work

Overall, at the time of the research, much of the workforce felt optimistic about their professional future, despite small differences across sectors. Half of survey respondents felt positive or very positive, whereas a humble 16 per cent felt negative or very negative. A remaining third of respondents felt ‘neutral’ about their professional future – roughly the same proportion who did not expect any long-lasting changes in their jobs after the pandemic (34 per cent). However, there are differences in attitudes across sectors (figure 1).

Rising concerns about job security, working more for less

Despite the overall positive attitude, two-thirds of the surveyed workers also indicated that they have concerns about the work environment after COVID-19. The younger the respondent, the more concerned they are: 81 per cent of workers younger than 30 expressed such concerns. That proportion gradually decreased as age increased, landing at 54 per cent for workers age 60 or older. Seeing retirement in the near future might logically explain why they feel less concerned about the future work environment. Regardless, the difference between age groups is noteworthy.

What are workers mainly concerned about? The biggest issue – indicated by 36 per cent of respondents – is increased job insecurity. This is not surprising, given the economic impact brought by lockdown measures to diminish coronavirus transmission across Europe. Job security is the most important concern across all age groups, evidently increasing with age. There is a higher level of unemployment among young workers, and that level has risen significantly with the pandemic,¹ which certainly plays a role in our findings.

The tendency to work more hours for the same pay was singled out as the second-largest concern, indicated by 32 per cent of the surveyed workers. This could be linked to the ever-blurring line that divides work from private life, given the increase in remote working and flexible working arrangements. At the other end of the spectrum of concerns is the question of pay transparency; half as many survey respondents (16 per cent) perceive this as a concern.

Forecast of long-lasting changes in how we work

Workers’ general attitudes and concerns about their professional futures are likely to be driven by the changes they perceive in their working environments. This makes it critical to understand which changes workers believe are here to stay – those are the changes policymakers must address.

Two out of three workers expect some changes to last beyond the pandemic. They predict long-lasting effects on how jobs are performed (e.g. with greater autonomy and in an increasingly digital way), rather than changes to the existence or content of the tasks themselves (e.g. jobs ceasing to exist).

Of the respondents who expect some long-lasting changes, 34 per cent anticipate having more flexibility and autonomy to decide when and how to perform their work. Thirty-two per cent expect increased digitalisation of the workplace and attention to cybersecurity, and 27 per cent expect more trust among colleagues and across hierarchies.

A shift in the skills needed to perform jobs is anticipated by approximately one-fourth (26 per cent) of the respondents. Interestingly, the results suggest that fewer older workers expect changes in skills needed than younger workers. This could potentially be linked to less awareness among older people about potential changes, or a higher likelihood of older people having stable jobs or being employed in traditional sectors that are subject to less change.

Policy priorities: What does the workforce expect?

Those attitudes and perceptions of key COVID-related changes set the scene for policymakers to understand what is behind the workforce’s preferred policy priorities. Acknowledging the expectations for long-lasting changes will enable policymakers to focus on the most relevant issues.

Our European Workforce Survey revealed differing perceptions across occupations and age groups, but respondents mainly agreed that two key areas deserve prioritisation by policymakers.

Adapt the regulatory framework of work

The first cited priority is enacting “changes in the regulatory framework to facilitate the adoption of more flexible working conditions”, as expressed by 33 per cent. This is an unsurprising result of the expectation that more autonomy and flexibility in working arrangements will be a long-lasting effect of COVID-19; specifically, 62 per cent of respondents expect to work from home more often in the future. This includes a large share of workers who did not work remotely (46 per cent) or rarely worked remotely (71 per cent) before the pandemic.

This view raises important questions for policymakers when discussing the challenges and opportunities brought by increased flexibility in working arrangements. Regulatory areas that might deserve further attention include responsibilities for health and safety in the workplace, monitoring and reporting of working hours, or even the tax and social implications of remote working.

Enabling upskilling and reskilling

As a second priority, survey respondents indicated the “provision of training opportunities to develop new skills”. This response did not vary significantly among the surveyed groups. It is consistent with the large share of survey respondents (70 per cent) who expect that different skills will be needed to thrive in the future labour market. But respondents called for training that goes beyond technical skills to include softer skills, such as the capacity to adapt (60 per cent), teamwork and collaboration (43 per cent) and time management (41 per cent).

In 2018, Deloitte research² also revealed the provision of training as a top priority for workers, even though their concerns differed at the time. Back then, individuals in certain sectors were concerned about the impact of automation on the relevance of their skills; in 2020, that concern seems secondary to the immediate impact of the pandemic on work environments and job opportunities.³ In this context, policymakers should be aware of the increased importance and imminent need for upskilling and reskilling. Skills forecasting will be essential to provide relevant training opportunities.

Divided views: Occupation, age and vulnerability differences

Despite the broad agreement on the top two policy priorities across occupations and ages, opinions are more scattered for other potential priorities. This is especially the case for measures aimed at redressing COVID-19 impacts on the labour market (e.g. support for displaced workers, support for job transitions) or enhancing digitalisation (e.g. investment in digital infrastructure, digital development strategies).

When looking at the results per occupational group, manual workers seem more focused on measures supporting job transitions and less on investments in digital infrastructure. The highly skilled occupations (e.g. managers, directors or senior officials and professionals⁴) have opposite preferences. This could be linked to the fact that many workers in highly skilled occupations were able to work remotely during the pandemic and that sanitary restrictions often prevented manual workers from performing their regular duties. Moreover, manual workers ranked the policy priority “social security net for displaced workers” higher than workers whose jobs do not require physical interaction and can work remotely.

Some differences also emerge across age groups. The importance assigned to the policy measure “support to transition in a new job” tends to decrease as age increases. The same trend is evident with the policy priority “social security net for displaced workers”. Considering that only 53 per cent of respondents older than 60 are concerned about their future work environment – in comparison to 81 per cent of those younger than 30 – young people emerge as a vulnerable group calling for specific support measures.

Where perception meets policy

The pandemic has probably been the most disruptive change that many Europeans have experienced in their professional lives. Even in the face of lingering uncertainty, the majority of workers feel positive about their future and are showing great resilience.⁵ Regardless, their concerns and policy priorities should not be ignored; workers generally indicated that their interests lie in the adaptation of regulatory frameworks and enhanced reskilling and upskilling through the provision of training.

The variation in perceptions across ages and occupations points to the need for tailored interventions. But we recommend that any interventions fall under the umbrella of the following areas, across the stages of the ‘intervention cycle’: