Six in 10 workers in the U.S. approve of business leaders speaking up about social and political issues, according to the latest CNBC|SurveyMonkey Workforce Survey. The poll was conducted among 8,233 employed adults across the U.S. from April 8-18, amidst a wave of news events—including heightened anti-Asian discrimination, voting disenfranchisement in Georgia, and the trial of Derek Chauvin—that prompted business leaders to wade into politics in a very visible way.
Women are more likely than men, younger workers are more likely than older workers, and—most dramatically—Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics are more likely than whites to say they would approve of business leaders who speak up.
Among Black workers, for example, 77% say they approve of business leaders speaking up in general, and 45% would support leaders at their own organization who choose to speak publicly on political and social issues, regardless of whether they agree with them.
People at the highest levels of an organizational chart—the business owners, company presidents, and C-Suite leaders—are the least likely to say they generally approve of business leaders choosing to speak out on social and political issues. Just 52% in this group, compared with 62% of individual contributors, approve of business leaders speaking out on social and political issues.
Thinking more personally, 61% of workers say they are comfortable sharing their own political views with colleagues, though just 24% say they are “very comfortable” doing so. C-level executives are more likely than lower-level employees to say they are very comfortable sharing their political views with colleagues (35% among C-level vs. 24% among individual contributors).
Men are more likely than women to say they are very comfortable sharing their political views at work (28% vs. 20%), and Blacks (30%) are more likely than Hispanics (24%), Asians (23%), and whites (23%) to say they are very comfortable sharing their political views.
Workforce happiness holds steady
Workforce happiness remains unchanged from November, with the Workplace Happiness Index holding dead even at a score of 72 out of 100.
There were no shifts in any of the index components that would indicate a substantial change in workers’ overall happiness.
- The percent of workers who say they are well-paid ticked up from 74% to 75%
- The number of workers who rate their opportunities for career advancement as good or excellent held steady at 60%
- The number of workers who say their contributions are valued by their colleagues held steady at 83%
- The percent of workers saying they have autonomy at work ticked up from 84% to 85%
- And the percent of workers who say their work is very or somewhat meaningful ticked down from 91% to 90%
Workers are happier if they are pleased with their company’s DEI effort
One-third of workers (33%) say their organization is doing “a lot” of work on diversity and inclusion today, and another 37% say they are doing “some” work on DEI issues, while 14% say they’re doing “just a little” and 12% say they are doing “none at all.” Workers in the finance (43%), advertising & marketing (42%), technology (42%), and insurance (41%) industries are particularly likely to say their company is doing a lot of work on DEI these days.
Nearly half of all workers (47%) say their organization’s focus on diversity and inclusion has “stayed about the same” over the last year, but a substantial 39% say the topic has become more of a priority in that time (just 10% say it has become less of a priority). The insurance (57%), nonprofit (50%), and technology (49%) industries are those that have had the most change in the importance of diversity and inclusion in the last year, as reported by their workers.
A huge majority of the workforce (78%) says it is important to them to work at an organization that prioritizes diversity and inclusion, and in fact more than half (53%) consider it to be “very important” to them.
Women are more likely than men to want to work at an organization that prioritizes diversity and inclusion (86% vs. 72%). Asians (88%), Blacks (87%), and Hispanics (85%) are more likely than whites (75%) to consider it important that they work at an organization that prioritizes diversity and inclusion. And, most strikingly, workers at the individual contributor level are more likely than those at the highest levels of the career ladder to say it’s important that they work at a place that prioritizes DEI: 82% of individual contributors but just 61% of C-level executives or business owners say it’s important that they work somewhere that prioritizes diversity and inclusion.
Despite these lofty goals, about one quarter of workers (24%) say their company is “not doing enough” to address issues of diversity and inclusion; a majority (55%) say their company is doing “about the right amount” and 17% say their company is “going too far” to address this issue.
Black (36%) and Hispanic workers (31%) are more prone than others to say their company is not doing enough in its efforts at DEI. Women are more likely than men (28% vs. 21%) and younger workers are more likely than older workers to say their company is not doing enough.
Employees’ perceptions of their company’s DEI efforts have an effect on their job satisfaction, too. Those workers who say their company is “not doing enough” to prioritize diversity and inclusion have a Workforce Happiness Index score of 63, well below the scores of 75 among both those who say their company is doing “about the right amount” and those who say their company is “going too far” on DEI issues.
Workers who say their company is not doing enough work on DEI report lower scores for every component of the index calculation, but it is especially true for their self-reported satisfaction with their pay and their opportunities for advancement.
Just 60% of workers who think their organization isn’t doing enough in the realm of diversity and inclusion say they are paid well for the work they do, compared with 80% of workers who think their work is doing about the right amount of work on DEI and 82% of workers who think their company is doing too much to address DEI issues.
Even worse, just 42% of workers who indicate their company falling short of its efforts at diversity and inclusion say they have good or excellent opportunities to advance their career at their company, compared with 65% of workers who think their work is doing about the right amount of work on DEI and 68% of workers who think their company is doing too much to address DEI issues.
The future of work
More than a year since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, many workers are realizing the importance of having time with their colleagues in-person. A majority (58%) say they value being able to work with others in-person “a lot,” 27% value it “some,” while 9% value it “just a little,” and 5% say they don’t value it at all.
Younger workers are substantially less likely than older workers to say they value seeing their colleagues in-person: just 55% of 18-24 year-olds and 52% of 25-34 year-olds say they value in-person work “a lot,” compared with 59% of 35-44 year-olds, 61% of 45-54 year-olds, 60% of 55-64 year-olds, and 66% of workers 65 and older.
Workers in the technology industry and the insurance industry are tied for having the fewest percentage of their workforces that value seeing their colleagues in-person “a lot” (just 45% of those in each field say this is true).
As companies prepare for a future that will involve more hybrid work options, many workers are wary about limiting their career potential by choosing to work remotely. More than half of workers (52%) say they expect people who work in-person to have better career opportunities at their organization in the future, while just 15% expect remote workers to have better career opportunities and 31% say remote and in-person workers will have equivalent career opportunities.
Even some industries that have large proportions of their workforces still doing their jobs remotely have workers who say in-person employees will have a leg up in terms of career opportunities. For example, 46% of finance professionals are still working from home, but by a 4-to-1 margin they say that in-person workers will have better career opportunities than remote workers at their company a year from now.
There are still a few notable exceptions. Nearly half of workers in the technology industry (47%) say remote and in-person workers will have equal opportunities for career growth at their organization, and the margin between those who say in-person vs. remote workers will have an advantage is much slimmer (32% vs. 20%).
And workers recognize that the decision is rarely theirs to make alone. Just 23% of workers expect to be able to decide whether or how much to work from home after the coronavirus pandemic is over. A majority say the decision will be made by someone other than them: either their manager (15%), their department/region/location (15%), or their company (42%).
Plans for the return
Among those workers who are still working from home, 40% expect to return to working in their office before Labor Day, and another 24% expect to return before the end of the year. But nearly one in five (19%) say they never expect to return to working from their office.
Looking ahead to six months from now, just 23% of workers who are still working from home now say they expect to be working fully from their office or workplace, 18% expect to be working fully from home, and 56% expect to be working from both home and the office.
These numbers vary substantially by industry. Just 6% of workers in the education field say they expect to be working fully from home six months from now, compared with 28% of workers in technology, 33% of finance workers, and 46% of workers in insurance.
Few of these workers report that their company has a final reopening plan ready: 22% say their company has a final plan, 35% say they have a temporary plan, and 39% say their company has no plan yet.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 Jobs and the economy 32%36%29%Health care 20%15%26%Immigration 11%13%9%Education 10%9%12%The environment 9%9%10%Terrorism 2%2%2%Foreign policy 2%3%1%Other (please specify) 12%12%11%No answer 1%1%1%Question wording: Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now?Survey dates: –Which of the following best describes you?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 Working full-time 74%80%68%Working part-time 26%20%32%Not working for pay 0%0%0%No answer 0%0%0%Question wording: Which of the following best describes you?Survey dates: –Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your current job?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 NET satisfied 86%87%86%Very satisfied 50%52%50%Somewhat satisfied 36%35%36%NET not satisfied 13%12%14%Somewhat dissatisfied 10%9%10%Very dissatisfied 4%3%3%No answer 1%1%1%Question wording: Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your current job?Survey dates: –How well do you think you are paid for the work you do?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 NET well paid 75%79%72%Very well paid 28%31%24%Somewhat well paid 48%48%48%NET not well paid 24%20%28%Not so well paid 19%17%21%Not at all well paid 5%4%6%No answer 1%1%1%Question wording: How well do you think you are paid for the work you do?Survey dates: –How would you rate the opportunities your company provides for you to advance your career?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 NET positive 60%63%58%Excellent 26%28%23%Good 34%35%34%NET negative 39%36%41%Fair 24%23%25%Poor 15%13%16%No answer 1%1%2%Question wording: How would you rate the opportunities your company provides for you to advance your career?Survey dates: –How much do you think your contributions at work are valued by your colleagues?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 NET positive 83%83%82%A lot 49%50%48%Some 34%34%34%NET negative 16%16%16%Just a little 12%12%11%Not at all 4%4%5%No answer 1%1%2%Question wording: How much do you think your contributions at work are valued by your colleagues?Survey dates: –How much control do you have at work over the tasks you do, the way in which you do them, or the timing of when you do them?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 NET positive 85%86%84%A lot 51%54%49%Some 34%33%35%NET negative 14%13%15%Just a little 10%9%11%None at all 4%4%4%No answer 1%1%1%Question wording: How much control do you have at work over the tasks you do, the way in which you do them, or the timing of when you do them?Survey dates: –How meaningful is your work to you?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 NET meaningful 90%89%92%Very meaningful 64%61%67%Somewhat meaningful 26%28%24%NET not meaningful 9%10%8%Not so meaningful 7%7%5%Not meaningful at all 3%3%2%No answer 1%1%1%Question wording: How meaningful is your work to you?Survey dates: –In general, do you approve or disapprove of business leaders speaking out on social and political issues?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 Net approve 60%56%66%Strongly approve 23%22%25%Somewhat approve 37%34%42%Net disapprove 38%43%32%Somewhat disapprove 19%19%18%Strongly disapprove 19%25%13%No answer 2%1%2%Question wording: In general, do you approve or disapprove of business leaders speaking out on social and political issues?Survey dates: –Would you support leaders at your organization speaking out publicly on political issues?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 Yes, regardless of whether I agree with them 36%34%39%Yes, but only if I agree with them 22%22%22%No, regardless of whether I agree with them 39%43%36%No answer 2%2%3%Question wording: Would you support leaders at your organization speaking out publicly on political issues?Survey dates: –How comfortable do you feel sharing your own political views with colleagues?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 Net comfortable 61%66%57%Very comfortable 24%28%20%Somewhat comfortable 37%38%36%Net not comfortable 38%33%42%Not so comfortable 24%22%26%Not comfortable at all 14%12%15%No answer 1%1%2%Question wording: How comfortable do you feel sharing your own political views with colleagues?Survey dates: –How important is it to you to work at an organization that prioritizes diversity and inclusion?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 Net important 78%72%86%Very important 53%44%62%Somewhat important 25%27%24%Net not important 20%27%12%Not so important 10%12%7%Not important at all 10%15%5%No answer 2%1%2%Question wording: How important is it to you to work at an organization that prioritizes diversity and inclusion?Survey dates: –In the past 12 months, has your organization’s focus on diversity and inclusion:
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 Become more of a priority 39%39%40%Become less of a priority 10%11%10%Stayed about the same 47%48%46%No answer 3%2%4%Question wording: In the past 12 months, has your organization’s focus on diversity and inclusion:Survey dates: –How much work is your organization doing on diversity and inclusion today?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 A lot 33%32%34%Some 37%38%37%Just a little 14%14%14%None at all 12%13%11%No answer 3%3%4%Question wording: How much work is your organization doing on diversity and inclusion today?Survey dates: –Do you think your organization’s efforts at diversity and inclusion are:
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 Going too far 17%20%13%Not doing enough 24%21%28%About the right amount 55%56%56%No answer 3%3%4%Question wording: Do you think your organization’s efforts at diversity and inclusion are:Survey dates: –How much do you value being able to work with others in-person?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 A lot 58%59%58%Some 27%27%26%Just a little 9%8%9%Not at all 5%5%6%No answer 2%1%2%Question wording: How much do you value being able to work with others in-person?Survey dates: –Thinking ahead to a year from now, do you think remote or in-person workers would have better career opportunities at your organization?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 Remote workers will have better career opportunities 15%15%14%In-person workers will have better career opportunities 52%55%48%Remote and in-person workers will have equal career opportunities 31%28%34%No answer 3%3%3%Question wording: Thinking ahead to a year from now, do you think remote or in-person workers would have better career opportunities at your organization?Survey dates: –Looking ahead, as best you can tell, who will decide how much you can work from home after the coronavirus pandemic is over?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 You 23%25%21%Your manager 15%16%15%Your department/region/location 15%14%17%Your company 42%42%43%No answer 4%4%4%Question wording: Looking ahead, as best you can tell, who will decide how much you can work from home after the coronavirus pandemic is over?Survey dates: –Have you been doing your job from home or from your usual workplace in recent weeks?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 Working fully from your usual workplace or office 59%61%58%Working fully from home 21%21%22%Mix of working from usual workplace and from home 16%15%17%No answer 3%3%3%Question wording: Have you been doing your job from home or from your usual workplace in recent weeks?Survey dates: –How has your work changed in the last 12 months? (Select all that apply)
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 8,233 3,985 4,057 I’ve worked remotely more than previously 31%31%30%I’ve worked more flexible or less consistent hours than previously 21%20%22%I’ve worked longer hours than previously 25%25%25%I’ve worked shorter hours than previously 12%11%12%I’ve learned new skills to help do my job 23%20%27%I’ve begun using new software tools to help do my job 18%17%19%None of the above 25%27%23%No answer 3%2%3%Question wording: How has your work changed in the last 12 months? (Select all that apply)Survey dates: –Which, if any, of the following would you need in order to feel safe returning to work in-person? (Select all that apply)
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,478 1,650 1,743 To be vaccinated against COVID-19 myself 50%51%50%For a significant number of colleagues to be vaccinated 44%43%45%Mandatory masking at work 36%31%42%Daily screening and temperature checks 27%22%33%Physical barriers between employees or employees and customers 22%17%28%Physical distancing between employees or employees and customers 36%30%42%None of the above 24%26%22%No answer 1%1%2%Question wording: Which, if any, of the following would you need in order to feel safe returning to work in-person? (Select all that apply)Survey dates: –When do you expect to return to working in your office?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,477 1,650 1,742 Before September 1, 2021 40%42%38%September 1 - December 31, 2021 24%24%23%January 1, 2022 or later 14%14%13%Never 19%16%21%No answer 4%3%5%Question wording: When do you expect to return to working in your office?Survey dates: –Has your company announced a reopening plan?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,477 1,650 1,742 Yes, we have a final plan 22%24%20%Yes, we have a temporary plan 35%34%35%No, we don’t have a plan yet 39%40%39%No answer 4%3%5%Question wording: Has your company announced a reopening plan?Survey dates: –Six months from now, do you expect to be...
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 3,478 1,650 1,743 Working fully from your office or workplace 23%23%24%Working mostly from your office or workplace 30%32%28%Working mostly from home 26%27%25%Working fully from home 18%16%21%No answer 2%1%3%Question wording: Six months from now, do you expect to be...Survey dates: –What are you most looking forward to about returning to work in-person?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Unweighted N 2,668 1,308 1,298 Seeing colleagues in person 27%28%27%Having a separation between work and home 15%16%14%Having a better work environment or equipment 11%11%10%All of the above 32%31%32%Other (please specify) 5%4%5%None of the above 10%9%12%No answer 1%0%1%Question wording: What are you most looking forward to about returning to work in-person?Survey dates: –
