Transforming Business poll reveals how the pandemic has affected company culture for businesses around the globe

• The latest Transforming Business poll asked respondents whether their company experienced a shift in corporate culture over the past 12 months.
• Many respondents indicated some positive changes in work culture, but still expressed frustration with the challenges of remote work.
• Visit Insider’s Transforming Business homepage for more stories.

The year 2020 saw an unprecedented amount of office buildings and corporate headquarters close in observance of social distancing restrictions and other public health concerns. As the pandemic continues, companies are still grappling with how to keep their employees connected and teams running efficiently. Among white collar workers, the response to remote work has been mixed, despite the many tools available that have made the transition away from physical offices extremely convenient for most office managers.  

The latest Transforming Business poll revealed that, while work life has become more flexible and less hectic for many white collar employees, some workers have noted that this change has come with a few unfortunate tradeoffs. The past year has brought the pros and cons of fully remote working arrangements to light for almost all of the 614 business leaders surveyed across several regions, including North America, Europe, and Asia. 

More time with family and friends

When asked whether their company had experienced a shift in corporate culture as a result of the pandemic or other external factors, 538 of the 614 respondents said “not really.” However, a few went on to describe how the pandemic and the mass shift to remote work has affected their companies’ atmosphere in more positive ways. Their responses were kept anonymous in the interest of privacy.

One respondent from the US said their company is “moving to be family-focused and understanding the challenges faced by our employees.”

As the pandemic went into full swing last spring, HR personnel, office managers, and executives had to adapt their new virtual offices and business practices to be more flexible with employees’ home lives, particularly those with young children and were struggling to find child care and navigate school closures for months on end. Another US respondent said the pandemic has made their business: “More respectful of people’s family challenges.”

Along with employee relations, the pandemic has also affected business operations across many industries.  

One US respondent said their company shifted focus to being, “More about the people than the product.” For many retail and consumer-facing businesses around the world, the lack of social interaction and restrictions on in-person sales has prompted many businesses to emphasize and rethink their approach to customer service. 

Less time bonding with colleagues

A few respondents in the survey indicated that there have been some negative impacts from the culture shift seen in their companies. Specifically, the lack of interaction with colleagues was a point of concern.

One US respondent told Insider, “We have our meeting less often and we dont have any fun gathering so we kind of fall apart from colleagues who don’t work on the same project.”

This disconnect between colleagues can have a negative impact on productivity and company culture. Some business leaders have incentivized their preference for employees to work from the office.

Another respondent from Canada said, “There is more leniency to working from home, but they would much rather have us in the office; in fact people who work from the office get bonuses like food and presents.”

This SurveyMonkey Audience poll targeted individuals who work in a management capacity at their company according to the Audience panel. They included respondents from Hong Kong (n=50), Singapore (n=50), The United States (n=207), Canada (n=104), France (n=52), the United Kingdom (n=51), Germany (n=50) and India (n=50), with local translations in Germany and France. Respondents are incentivized to complete surveys through charitable contributions. Generally speaking, digital polling tends to skew toward people with access to the internet. SurveyMonkey Audience doesn’t try to weight its sample based on race or income. Polling data collected total of 614 respondents March 3-4, 2021.

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