Survey: Dramatic Workplace Changes Await As Bay Area Workers Return From Shelter-In-Place Restrictions
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The Bay Area workplace will be a markedly different world as shelter-in-place orders slowly begin to lift and companies attempt to regenerate their businesses, according to a survey of 123 Bay Area CEOs and other top executives, who largely support the actions of local authorities in handling the coronavirus pandemic.
The survey conducted this week by San Francisco-based business development group Bay Area Council indicated working remotely will be a normal and regular part of business operations for a large majority of companies. Close to 90 percent of those polled said their firms would have at least partial remote work policies, while a fifth of the companies said they were planning a transition to a fully remote workforce.
Currently, the survey showed a staggering 84 percent of workers are doing their job at their kitchen table or other home location.
Other findings showed that the transition to the new normal will be slow, with executives expecting only 23 percent of their employees will return to work during California's Stage 2 update to the shelter-in-place order, 39 percent in Stage 3, and only 70 percent in Stage 4.
Company execs also do not believe their firms can recover quickly. Only 14 percent of employers have either maintained their revenue or believe it would recover in a month. Nearly two out of three believe it will take their company six months to a year to recover, a third think it will take them two years to recover, and 13 percent believe it will take more than two years, according to the survey.
"Shutting down our economy has starved the virus but it's also starving millions of workers and businesses of the jobs and income they need to pay salaries, pay rent, buy food and so much more," said Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council in a prepared statement. "As the data shows California making continuing progress in flattening the curve and building our testing and healthcare system capacity, we must start accelerating the reopening of our economy now. The business community has been extremely supportive of the strong measures by elected leaders and public health officials to close down our economy and stem the pandemic, and we must also turn our attention to flattening the curve of economic damage we're experiencing."
Despite the financial hit to their bottom lines, the executives surveyed showed strong support for Bay Area county actions to date. Three out of four executives said they said they either strongly support (45%) and somewhat support (32%) the county measures.
The survey also found 62 percent of executives want to see shelter-in-place orders lifted sometime in the next month, while 25 percent prefer the orders remain in place for another two months.
Bay Area companies are also dealing with the seemingly fractured approach to recovery and different regional standards among all the Bay Area counties. One CEO wrote, "We are pulling our hair out with all the different requirements that can vary county by county. It would be more efficient to have one universal set of rules."
Offices and workplaces will be certain to be reimagined for social distancing, with 66 percent planning to alternate schedules and 78 percent moving employees or workstations keep people farther apart. Most employers will also compel their workers to wear personal protective equipment.
Meanwhile, a whopping 91 percent of those surveyed are willing to stagger work start times and to allow for physical distancing on public transit.
"If there's any silver lining in all of this, the shift to more remote working practices might actually help make a dent in the Bay Area's horrific traffic," Wunderman said.
