According to a recent Kaspersky survey, people who work in companies with fewer than 50 employees, on average, need less employer support when working remotely, compared to staff in larger businesses. Emotional or psychological support is an exception.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many companies, but small businesses have suffered more than others. According to numerous research findings, in some countries, up to 90% of small companies have experienced a negative impact from the pandemic, such as drops in production, sales and revenues, and even complete closures. In companies with a dozen or fewer people, the way employees get through these challenges can very much impact the state of the entire business. Therefore, it is important for leaders to monitor how employees feel and supervise the consequences that this can have on their business.
Kaspersky’s latest survey revealed that the largest gap in support expectations is seen in social aid and additional benefits, such as covering internet or phone bills. 41% of small company employees would like more support with this, in comparison to 47% among those working in medium-sized businesses. The same pattern is true for required technology support, like helping to provide the right equipment and IT tools (35% compared to 41%). This may be due to the fact that it is more common for people in small organizations to arrange their own working environment, use personal devices for work and take care of access to work services.
Emotional or psychological support is needed to almost the same extent for all businesses: 23% across small organizations and 25% across bigger ones. The impact of COVID-19 has not only affected people’s work and daily lives but has also caused anxiety for their own health and that of their loved ones, as well as overall optimism for the future. So, mental health support may be significant for any employee.
“People who have experience working in small businesses may feel more self-sufficient in the new working reality and this has helped their organization to concentrate all of their resources on survival. However, to maintain employee productivity and moral, it is still important to make sure that staff have all that they need for work. When it comes to their technology set up, employees need help to use IT securely even if working on personal laptops and managing access to all web services alone,” comments Ivan Salikhov, Product Manager, SMB Products at Kaspersky.
To facilitate remote working conditions for employees, Kaspersky recommends the following actions: