New YouGov polling of key workers reveals that a third are also positive for the future of their organisations
Britons have been coming together every Thursday to show their appreciation for NHS staff with a nationwide round of applause, and it seems to be helping: new YouGov research reveals that most key workers feel their hard work to keep the country running is more appreciated than before the pandemic.
Six in ten keyworkers (60%) think their work is appreciated now, compared to only 37% who felt it was already appreciated before the lockdown began. The biggest change is seen among healthcare workers, three quarters of whom (76%) now feel appreciated, an increase of 32% compared to those who felt appreciated before the lockdown.
Educational workers also feel more appreciated, with 27% more feeling appreciated during the pandemic than before. Another two in five (41%) still feel their work is not appreciated despite this rise.
Key workers in the logistics, manufacturing, and retail sectors are the least likely to feel their work is appreciated at 46%, this is 17 percentage points more than those who felt appreciated before. But 44% still feel their work goes under-appreciated even during the pandemic.
Further to this, a plurality of key workers are feeling positive about the future of their respective organisations, especially healthcare workers. A third (36%) of key workers say they think their organisation will likely change for the better due to the impact of COVID-19.
Healthcare workers (50%) are most likely to think their organisations will change for the better due to COVID-19, compared to 39% of safety and defence workers, 28% of workers in logistics, manufacture, and retail, and 23% of key workers in education.
Three in ten (30%) of workers in the education sector think their organisation is more likely to change for the worse however, and another 19% say their organisation is unlikely to change at all.
Learn more about YouGov Custom Research here
