Lay-Offs, Side-Gigs, and “Normalcy” During The Coronavirus Economy

As we learn about the pandemic, the worse the best-case scenarios become. There is little doubt that the nation is headed into a recession because of the pandemic. The opinions of the everyday professional matters in this, as the turbulent economy directly impacts them most. At Blind, we turned to our users to gauge what professionals are feeling in terms of lay-offs, income, and timeline by asking the following three questions:

1. Do you fear being laid off? (Yes/No)
2. Have you started looking for new ways to supplement your income? (Yes/No)
3. How many months will it take until you foresee life going “back to normal”?

 (Less than a month, 1-3 months/4-6 months/6-12 months/more than a year)

Key Findings  from 3/19- 3/23 (~12,700 Responses): 

• 57% of surveyed professionals fear being laid off
  • 84.8% of Expedia professionals
  • 36.6% of Facebook professionals
  • 48.8% of Amazon professionals 
  • 49.6% of Apple professionals 
  • 63.5% of Paypal professionals 
  • 43.9% of Bloomberg professionals 
  • 65% of Deloitte professionals 
• 23.7% of surveyed professionals have looked for new ways to supplement their income
  • 30.6% of Expedia professionals
  • 19.2% of Amazon professionals
  • 17.8% of Google professionals
  • 22.7% of Apple professionals
  • 27.1% of Capital One professionals
  • 28.6% of IBM professionals
  • 26.4% of JPMorgan professionals
  • 19.2% of Bloomberg professionals
• 40.6% of surveyed professionals believe it will take 6-12 months for life to go “back to normal”
  • 2.1% think it will take 1-3 months 
  • 13.2% believe it will take more than a year

The good news is that there may be some relief on the horizon. Companies are stepping up to the plate and reminding us that we are in this together. For example, Capital One is “extending PTO for all employees to take care of their families.” During this time of crisis, Salesforce is urging employees to take care of their health and family first, and saying that they understand if people cannot be as productive. Additionally, they are offering a $250 reimbursement to set up a home office. People on the platform also mention that Facebook biannual bonuses will be paid as though all employees received “Exceeds Expectations” on their rating. 

On Blind, we opened channels for professionals to discuss Coronavirus in the workplace, side jobs, and referrals.  Here, you can see this anonymous community come together. Although times are dark and uncertain, it is these actions that remind us that we are in this, together. To survive a pandemic, we must take care of our teams and emerge together.