New data: WFH replaces sick days
Hello from SurveyMonkey! In this week’s newsletter, Brianna is back to share exclusive data on the new normal: how many Americans would choose to from home if they felt sick – even if they had paid sick leave. Plus find out where most Americans would like to see mask mandates (hint: the CDC just extended the mandate). Read on to learn more!
But first, as always, we wanted to shout out some of our research data in the news and on our blog:
Enthusiasm for NFTs cools down from early 2021: We surveyed 5,118 adults in the US on their perceptions and attitudes toward NFTs, and found that hype for the future of NFTs shows signs of declining. Compared with last year, fewer U.S. adults currently believe that the technology will be as big in five years as it is now. Most people believe that NFTs are mostly hype or a scam, with only a small minority believing that they are the real deal. Read the full story here.
More people are stepping up to counter AAPI hate: Did you catch our 2022 Americans’ Experiences with Discrimination study from a few weeks ago? We found that Asian American men are less likely to report hate crimes against them, and that 83% of Asian American parents are concerned that their children may be bullied because of their race or ethnicity. Read some of the coverage on PBS.
The new normal at work: WFH while sick
Workers are facing a new conundrum in the post-COVID way of life: should they actually take their sick leave when they are sick? In the “before times,” showing up to the office with a cough might earn you some nasty glares from colleagues or a gentle reminder from your boss that you still have some sick days left. But now, COVID has created a heightened sense of awareness: is that cough you hear just a cough?
In new polling from SurveyMonkey, a plurality (43%) of employed adults in the U.S. say they would work from home if they had common cold symptoms, compared with 30% who say they would take the day off. The remaining 26% would still show up to work in person.
Those who are unvaccinated are about as likely as those who are vaccinated to say they’d work from the office (28% vs. 26%)
45% of adults working in food and beverage say they’d take time off – the highest of any industry
Having flu-like symptoms or testing positive for COVID-19 changes the game substantially: a majority of people say they would take time off in either scenario, though about four in 10 say they would work from home rather than calling out sick.
Almost no one (4%) says they would still head into the office if they test positive for COVID-19, but twice that number (8%) say they would go even if they have flu-like symptoms.
Those working in the food and beverage industry are the group most likely to take time off in all three scenarios (45% would take off for common cold symptoms; 62% would take off for flu-like symptoms; 68% would take off if they tested positive for COVID-19)
Adults age 18-34 are twice as likely as those 65+ to head into the office if they had flu-like symptoms (10% vs. 5%)
Among those who currently work fully in-person, 65% say they’d take time off if they tested positive for COVID-19; 61% would take time off for flu-like symptoms and 37% would take time off for common cold symptoms – the highest of any group in all scenarios.
Those working fully or mostly remote are less likely to take time off work and more willing to work from home in every scenario compared to those working mostly or fully from the office.
The most surprising finding: in all three scenarios, adults with paid sick leave are actually less likely to take time off compared with adults who don’t have paid sick leave. Instead, they’re more likely than workers without paid leave to work from home while sick.
However, just over half (53%) of adults 18-24 don’t have paid sick leave but they’re the group most likely to take time off in every scenario. Similarly, a third (34%) of part-time employees don’t have paid sick leave, but they are more likely to say they’d take time off in every scenario compared to full-time employees.
Masks up
Travelers take note: On Wednesday, the CDC extended the federal mask mandate on planes, trains and buses until May 3. Half (50%) of Americans say they’d support mask mandates on airplanes closely followed by public transportation (47%). But fewer support mask mandates in movie theaters, grocery stores or in bars and restaurants.
Those who aren’t wearing masks don’t want to start: 86% of those who say they “never” wear a mask when they leave the house don’t think masks should be required in any of the above scenarios.
Among those who currently wear masks “every time” they go out, support for mask mandates on airplanes (81%) and public transit (81%) is higher than grocery stores (71%), movie theaters (69%), and bars and restaurants (60%)
Politics plays a key role: Republicans are far more likely to say mask mandates shouldn’t be required (70%) anywhere compared with Democrats (16%) and independents (41%).
Unvaccinated adults are almost twice as likely to say mask mandates shouldn’t be required anywhere compared with vaccinated adults (63% vs. 35%).
- Brianna Richardson
That’s all for this week! Thanks as always for reading.