Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, key issues in workplace culture, such as understood norms of behavior, are being impacted, according to Emtrain. The HR compliance training and data analytics company released a report July 15 which noted changes in employee sentiments over just a few months, including an 11% drop in rating the workplace culture as "healthy" in the area of preventing workplace harassment.
The report compared the survey responses of more than 100,000 employees obtained before March 15 to data from surveys administered after March 15 of more than 20,000 employees, according to Emtrain. Since the shift to remote work, the report found a 10% decrease in employees saying "there are well-understood norms of behavior governing how people treat each other in their workplace." One positive change, however, was an 8% increase in employees seeing their coworkers exhibit social awareness.
"Well-understood norms of behavior" is an indicator of overall workplace health, Emtrain founder and CEO Janine Yancey said in a statement. "To see that drop is a red flag." The report also noted a 7% increase in employees saying they feel a need to minimize their heritage or identity at work. This metric is an indicator of inclusion, according to a previous Emtrain report.