How much of an impact has the pandemic had on work? Two-thirds of workers (67%) in a New York Times|SurveyMonkey poll say they expect to work about the same amount after the pandemic ends as they did before it began. Among those who say they’ve reconsidered their relationship with work, about twice as many say they plan to work more than they did before the pandemic as say they plan to work less than they did before the pandemic (20% vs. 12%).
Younger workers are the most likely to say they’ve reconsidered their relationship with work due to the pandemic, and they’re both more likely to say that they now plan to work more and to say that they now plan to work less.
Younger workers are also more likely to say the pandemic has caused them to consider switching jobs in general, as well as switching jobs to an entirely different industry. Overall, 14% of workers say they’re more likely to switch jobs within their industry due to the pandemic, but that number rises to 22% among 18-34 year-old workers and falls to 8% among workers age 55 and older. Similarly, 16% of workers say they’re more likely to switch jobs to a different industry because of the pandemic, but that number rises to 26% among workers age 18-34 and drops to just 7% among workers age 55+.
Overall, 25% of workers say they are planning to look for a new job in the next six months (32% among those 18-34, 27% among those 35-54, and 14% among those 55+). Retaining workers may prove challenging in a hot labor market, and as of this survey 35% of workers say they’ve received a raise in the past six months and 38% expect to receive a raise in the next six months. Workers who are planning to look for a new job are no more or less likely than those who are not looking for a new job to have either received a raise in the past six months or to expect to receive a raise in the next six months.
For more detailed results, click through the interactive toplines below.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
