Technology workers experienced the highest levels of disruption to their work due to COVID-19 compared to other industries, according to new data from global HR leader ADP.
Almost two thirds (63 per cent) of surveyed technology workers reported two or more workplace changes as a result of COVID-19. Changes included more or fewer work hours, the increased use of technology, promotions placed on hold and the closure of physical office space.
The results feature in the Global Workplace Study 2020 by the ADP Research Institute, which surveyed over 26,000 workers in 25 countries, including Australia, to research the impact of COVID-19 on employee engagement and workplace resilience.
While engagement was relatively low across industries, technology workers were also the most engaged at work following COVID-19 than professionals from any other industry. The amount of fully engaged technology workers was six per cent higher than the overall average.
One in five technology workers reported being fully engaged, followed by workers in finance (14 per cent). Industries with the least number of engaged workers were manufacturing (11 per cent), app-based task employment (12 per cent) and transportation, education, food service and healthcare (13 per cent).
Across all industries, a positive correlation between engagement and workplace resilience was identified; of workers who are fully engaged at work, two thirds were identified as highly resilient. Additionally, the more workplace changes workers experienced, the more resilient they felt.
Researchers also found that individuals who had a close personal experience with the virus, such as falling ill themselves or having a close family member or acquaintance receiving a positive diagnosis, were 3.8 times more likely to rank highly resilient.
