COVID-19
Highlights:
- Companies reporting COVID-19 as their most significant external influence have decreased 6%, from 62% in 2020 to 56% in 2021.
- For employees and overall relocation volumes, this decrease is even more significant. Only 26% of companies reported that COVID-19 caused a failed relocation, compared to 44% in 2020—an 18% decrease.
- The COVID-19 vaccine has set the precedent for companies to begin requiring return-to-work procedures, with 47% requiring the vaccine before a return to the office, and the same amount planning on a full return to work.
- 43% of companies plan on implementing hybrid arrangements for employees.
As the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be decreasing in impact for both employers and employees, it will still likely leave behind both systemic economic and cultural shifts—and potentially create tensions—for both employers and employees. Secondary research from Gallup as well as the Pew Research Center suggest that for employees who can work from home, remote/hybrid work is preferable to mandatory in-office attendance. This is true even if all employees are not worried about being exposed to the coronavirus. Simply put, working from home has allowed workers to take care of other reverberating impacts of COVID-19, including the necessities of child care. Likewise, employees may be using remote capabilities as a pathway to voluntarily relocate, either to desirable locations or areas with a lower cost of living.
The specific impact of COVID-19 is decreasing for employees, with common access to vaccines, coronavirus testing, PPE, and other layers of protection from companies’ internal COVID-19 hygiene policies. However, the pandemic is one of many global trends driving inflation and creating cost-of-living concerns for employees that might create a stronger reliance on dual-income households—a major barrier to successful relocations.
We anticipate hybrid workplace management to be a mainstay of post-pandemic workplaces, and remote positions will be highly coveted. Likewise, it appears that employees themselves are not ready for a full return to “normal” in-office work just yet. Remote/hybrid workplaces can offer flexibility to address both challenges and opportunities for employees.
Secondary research from Gallup as well as the Pew Research Center suggest that for employees who can work from home, remote/hybrid work is preferable to mandatory in-office attendance. This is true even if all employees are not worried about being exposed to the coronavirus.
Simply put, working from home has allowed workers to take care of other reverberating impacts of COVID-19, including the necessities of child care. Likewise, employees may be using remote capabilities as a pathway to voluntarily relocate, either to desirable locations or areas with a lower cost of living.
This is further reflected in the Atlas® 2022 Corporate Relocation Survey data, in which COVID-19 concerns (at 26%) ranked fourth as a reason for failed domestic relocations after Family Issues/Ties (51%), Spouse/Partner’s Employment (34%), and Cost of Living in a New Location (32%). For international relocations, COVID-19 ranks second in importance (at 29%) after other Safety Concerns, including conflict and political unrest (32%)
As for internal relocation, there are few norms across industries. From 2020 to 2021, Expansion (All Types) was the most steeply increasing internal factor impacting relocation. Across companies, this comprised of expansion of facilities, geographic footprint, and virtual/remote working capabilities. In 2021, delayed or reduced hiring saw a decrease in impact, further indicating recovery from the pandemic. However, budget restraints saw the least amount of change, with only a 2% decrease in impact from 2020 to 2021.
Recommendation:
- Companies should track the reverberating effects of COVID-19 as it has impacted relocation costs and trends driven by largescale economic influences, as well as employee attitudes around personal safety, relocation costs and trends, as well as workplace management and norms.
- While not all industries are able to offer remote or hybrid work, companies that are able to do so can foster competitiveness by offering hybrid/remote positions, and the development of competitive benefits and policies.