SPECIAL SURVEY RESULTS

Reopening Offices After COVID-19 Closures

© 2020 OperationsInc LLC. All rights reserved.

May 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2

Introduction 3

Polling Methodologies 4

Survey Participant Profile 4

Will Offices Reopen? 5

Offices May Reopen, But Remote Work Is Here to Stay for Now 6

Office Commutes Via Public Transportation Cited as Key Safety Concern 7

Preparing to Reopen 8

Office Health & Safety Concerns 9

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) & Recalling Furloughed and Laid Off Workers 10

Summer Is Coming & So Are Childcare Issues 11

Summary 12

About OperationsInc 12

Introduction

As states begin to lift stay at home orders and cities start to reopen economies, businesses are left to make one of the biggest decisions they will ever face as an organization. How will they safely reopen their offices and bring employees back to the workplace?

Since 2001, OperationsInc has provided high quality human resources consulting support to clients of varying size and industry throughout the United States and abroad. Now supporting a base of over 1,600 clients, we have grown to become one of the largest HR consultancies in the nation.

Once the COVID-19 outbreak began, the needs of these clients expanded overnight. Our team quickly assembled a special internal task force to address these evolving needs, leading clients through what continues to be the most challenging humanitarian and economic crisis of our lifetime.

To provide the insights our clients and overall business community so desperately need, our team quickly developed and deployed an independent, nationwide survey to measure plans and opinions of business and HR leaders as it relates to reopening their offices after COVID-19 closures.

The main goals and objectives of this extensive poll were to:

X Offer insights and data surrounding the key issues and challenges identified by survey respondents as it comes to reopening their offices after COVID-19-related closures.

X Provide business and HR leaders with information they need to drive their own policy development and move their business forward.

This critical information is needed to help organizations understand decisions other businesses like them are making during this critical time. Data was also collected with the intent to pass to government leaders as a means to influence and shape local, state, and federal response and planning in this area.

3

Polling Methodologies

OperationsInc’s COVID-19 task force, comprised of fourteen senior advisors from divisions across the organization, worked together to develop survey focus areas and corresponding questions considered by the group to be most critical for businesses as they move towards reopening their offices.

Our “SPECIAL SURVEY: Preparing for Office Reopenings After COVID-19 Closures” was released by our team on May 6, 2020. This eighteen-question online survey was taken by more than 425 businesses from 37 states across the country before the survey closed on May 12, 2020.

Survey Participant Profile

The survey sample included organizations across the United States of varying size and industry. Participants were from more than 37 states, representing New England, the Mid-Atlantic, Great Plains, Midwest, Pacific Northwest, California, and Southern and Western regions.

Companies under 250 employees were most heavily represented in polling data.

Over 500 employees

250-500 employees

100-249 employees

50 - 99 employees

9%10%

20%

23%

4

1 - 49 employees

38%

What is your company size?

We will stand by our safety measures and insist these employees come to

the office with their co-workers

Will Offices Reopen?

Extremely likely

Somewhat likely

Not Likely

Unsure

36%

31%

15%

18%

Any measures put forth today designed to allow offices to reopen will still leave every office with some risk of employee exposure to COVID-19. Given this exposure, how likely are you to return some / all staff to your office (if allowed) by July 1?

Unsure at this time

We will allow these employees to continue to work from home

Some employees are likely to refuse to return to the office due to concerns about their health and the health of those with whom they live, specifically in some cases because they/others have underlying health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. What will your policy be for those that express this concern?

5

Survey results show that two-thirds of businesses surveyed, or 67%, intend to open their offices by July 1, assuming they are allowed to do so.

However, even though most organizations surveyed intend to reopen by July 1, that does not mean that these employers will mandate that employees return to the workplace. Just 5% of those surveyed plan to require that employees return to the workplace, regardless of the employee’s underlying health conditions or concerns about health and safety.

Offices May Reopen, But Remote Work Is Here to Stay for Now

6

A key piece of data tied to the future of work is that though employers may intend to reopen their offices in the coming weeks, they do not intend to recall all workers immediately. In fact, many state guidelines have rolled out strict reopening requirements, stating that offices may not exceed certain capacity levels (usually 50% capacities) and that employee workstations must be six feet apart.

This means Remote Work Programs will be a key component of business continuity plans for the foreseeable future. But what does that mean for the future of work, and are businesses prepared to continue to have remote teams in place?

Up to 25%

26% - 50%

51% - 75%

76% - 100%

Given the layout of your office and the need to establish socialdistancing guidelines in any reopened office setting, what percentage ofyour staff do you project can be in your offices on any given day?

Unsure

16%

31%20%

19%

14%

If you have to keep your offices closed and maintain a virtual officesetup with all/virtually all working remotely, how difficult would it be tooperate at or close to the level you operated before COVID-19?

Extremely difficult

Somewhat difficult

Not Difficult

21% of organizations surveyed report that it will be extremely difficult to perform at pre-COVID-19 performance levels in a continued all virtual office setup, with an additional 41% reporting that it will be somewhat difficult to maintain pre-COVID-19 performance standards.

Good news came in the form of 38% of those who say continued virtual setups would have no impact on their team’s ability to perform. Impact levels were reported consistently across all company sizes represented in the survey.

Office Commutes Via Public Transportation Cited as Key Safety Concern

7

Up to 25%

26% - 50%

51% - 75%

76% - 100%

Unsure

Public transportation, including train and subway systems, buses, and even ferries, have been identified as COVID-19 community spread “hot spots”. This is due to the nature of these transportation systems, which are densely populated and involve high touch surface areas for riders (i.e. ticketing booth systems, seating, rails, etc.).

Employer reliance on public transportation increased proportionally the larger the company size.

How will companies manage situations where an employee relies on public transportation and therefore refuses to commute to the office due to the health and safety concerns associated with these public systems?

It appears that most employers will allow this employee population to continue to work remotely, although a whopping 35% were unsure how they would proceed at the time the survey closed.

None

Up to 25%

26% - 50%

51% - 75%

18%

7%

21%

42%

76% - 100%

8%

What percentage of your employees commute to the office via public transportation?

Unsure

Terminate their employment if they cannot / will not report to the office

Unsure at this time

Allow them to continue to work remotely until public transportation

options can be made 100% safe from COVID-19

For those employees who commute via public transportation, which ofthe following guidelines or policies will you likely follow should anemployee refuse to commute due to concerns for their health and safety?

5%

Preparing to Reopen

Survey data clearly shows that employers anticipate a long road to reopening, and they do not expect to return to normal overnight. However, the vast majority of organizations surveyed, regardless of size, feel somewhat to extremely confident that they have the internal skills to fully and completely plan and execute a safe reopening of their offices.

Extremely confident

Somewhat confident

Not confident

Unsure (4%)

31%

55%

10%

How comfortable and confident are you that you possess the skills INTERNALLY on your team to fully and completely plan and execute the successful and safe reopening of your office?

Have the right to establish a company specific set of rules and practices

Both of the above

Receive (and follow) Federal or State Regulations all business must follow

If given the chance, which approach would you prefer to take when it comes to establishing safety practices for your employees?

Unsure

8

Most companies surveyed would prefer to create safety protocols through a combination of standardized, government issues regulations and their own company-specific rules and practices.

Office Health & Safety Concerns

9

Assign an employee to manage the kitchen and provide items to employees from this area

Close the kitchen/pantry completely

Allow access, but implement protocols for safe access, including fresh gloves for each interaction

with commonly touched surfaces, using disinfectant after each kitchen use, etc.

Allow access, but assign an employee to clean the spaces contacted after the use of the area by

someone

Unsure at this time

Access to shared spaces (specifically office kitchens and pantries) are of high concern among survey respondents, and many companies remain unsure of how to manage access.

Access and distribution of sanitizing products and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are also of top concern.

Office kitchen and pantry spaces are the most common areas where Community Spread could occur within an office environment. How are you planning to manage?

Companies under 250 employees were significantly more concerned about paying for this protective equipment than larger companies.

How concerned are you about the cost of supplying your team,

visitors, and office with this equipment and these supplies?

How concerned are you about being able to procure the supplies that you need?

Extremely concerned

Somewhat concerned

Our state does not have any such requirements (2%)

Not concerned

Unsure (4%)

28%18%

49%

16%

46%

32%

Extremely concerned

Somewhat concerned

Our state does not have any such requirements (2%)

Not concerned

Unsure (3%)

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Recalling Furloughed and Laid Off Workers

10

Significant impact

Some impact

No impact

Unsure

25%

36%

28%

11%

The SBA (the agency administering the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)), has yet to issue detailed guidance as to how loan forgiveness is achieved. How much is the lack of this information impacting how your firm is choosing to use your PPP loan?

Yes

No

Unsure

11%

82%

7%

Employers have been attempting to recall furloughed and laid off workers, rehiring / reactivating those employees. In some cases, the (former/inactive) employee has refused to return to work, specifically indicating that they are making the same or more via unemployment benefits and/or are concerned about compromising their health by returning. Has this situation occurred with any of your former/inactive employees?

At the time this survey was conducted, the Small Business Administration (SBA) had failed to meet their deadline for issuing guidance tied to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. For those businesses surveyed that were PPP borrowers, 61% reported that this lack of guidance was impacting how they chose to spend PPP loan dollars. Companies under 50 employees reported the most serious impact.

PPP loan forgiveness eligibility hinges on an employer’s action to restore headcount and salary levels. Surprisingly, while many organizations across the U.S. have reported trouble recalling furloughed or laid off workers, this did not appear to be a problem for those who participated in this survey.

Summer Is Coming & So Are Childcare Issues

11

None

Up to 25%

26% - 50%

51% - 75%

12%

38%

30%

76% - 100%

14%

Unsure

Extremely concerned

Somewhat concerned

Not concerned

Unsure (4%)

20%

56%

20%

It is highly likely that all/most summer camps will be closed and summer programs cancelled. How concerned is your firm that this lack of childcare will create employee availability issues during the summer months?

To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of your employees have children under the age of 16 living with them?

Allow those affected to continue to work remotely to the extent they can do so

For employees dealing with a lack of childcare due to pauses in distance learning (i.e. schools closing for summer months) and camp and summer program closures, how will your firm handle this challenge with those affected?

Ask impacted employees to take PTO and/or a leave of absence during this time

Propose that affected employees reduce their work schedule and take a corresponding pay cut

Allow the employee to work an altered schedule, including hours outside of a typical workday, to

allow them to complete their work each day

Mandate that impacted employees report to the office upon reopening/lose their job if they do not

We have not determined how to tackle this issue at this time

The childcare coverage issues sparked by school closures are expected to continue, as many communities across the nation have announced summer camp cancellations and summer programming reductions.

The impact of anticipated childcare gaps are of major concern among the organizations surveyed, and many of these businesses (34%) were not yet sure how to manage the issues expected to arise.

3%

3%

Summary

12

The survey results from more than 425 businesses across the country show that employers foresee many obstacles tied to reopening offices, bringing employees back, and keeping workplaces safe from the spread of COVID-19.

Challenges surrounding employee health and safety and the economic implications of providing PPE have employers proceeding with caution, taking small steps to reopen versus expecting an immediate return to normalcy.

© 2020 OperationsInc LLC. All rights reserved.

About OperationsIncFounded by CEO David Lewis in 2001, OperationsInc specializes in HR solutions for businesses of all sizes and across all industries. OperationsInc has a portfolio of over 200 different HR related services, including:

X Human Resources Outsourcing and Consulting

X Managed Payroll Services

X Payroll and HR Contingency and Continuity Planning

X Reduction in Force Management and Administration

X Interim and Emergency HR and Payroll Support

X Outsourced Recruiting Services

X HR Crisis Management Services

X Online Training & Development Services

X Employee Leave Management

X Organizational Development Services

X Benefits Administration

WE ARE HERE TO HELPContact us at:p: (800) 307-5513e: info@OperationsInc.comw: www.OperationsInc.com

Polling numbers show that employers will offer employees the flexibility to continue remote work arrangements, which will be relied upon as a critical business continuity tool.