About 60% of the workforce has moved away amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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The coronavirus altered the way many workers do their work, either in person or from home, and increased the time they spent doing it.
In 2020, the average working day was extended by almost an hour, according to a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Despite the longer hours, workers also take fewer breaks. Since March, an vast majority of Americans have reduced, postponed, or canceled their planned free time, according to a separate survey of more than 2,000 workers in July.
“As the kitchen table becomes your office, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between work and home,” said Claire Barnes, senior vice president of human resources at Monster Worldwide.
“Unfortunately, we have seen that more and more workers (in all sectors) are not engaged in the holidays and personal time offered by their employers, either due to an increase in workload or d ‘a struggle to find a good balance between work and family life’.
Even before the pandemic, American workers only used about half of the eligible vacation time, according to a study by the Glassdoor job and recruitment website.
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Now, workers run the risk of losing billions in lost profits if that time cannot be transferred or transferred.
According to a report by consulting firm Willis Towers Watson, only 42% of companies said they are making changes to holiday policies to increase flexibility, including increasing unused leisure time travel limits.
In a separate survey conducted by Monster, it was found that nearly two-thirds, or 64%, of workers said their employer does not normally allow holiday relocation and that 4 out of 5 workers said their employers they offered no place to move due to the coronavirus crisis.
As of Jan. 1, workers will also lose the federal mandate requiring paid leave for those suffering from Covid-19.
The CARES Act included an emergency provision that required qualified employers to offer the benefit to eligible employees until December 31; without this policy, there is no national rule for family leave or illness.
However, under the terms of the new relief package, companies can still apply for a tax credit to subsidize the cost if they choose to provide paid leave until 2021.
Many companies are likely to continue to offer this option even without the mandate, according to Bill Gianoukos, founder and CEO of telecare program provider Goodpath, just as some will allow workers to spend the most unused vacation days.
“Employers understand the importance of living a more balanced life and are more open to making sure employees get the care they need.”
And yet it will be up to employees to defend themselves, Gianoukos said, “go back to your employer and ask for free time.”
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