Americans Now Link Personal Job Security to their Company’s Ability to Forecast and Plan for Future Economic Downturns, According to New Study from Prevedere

The impact of the pandemic on employment over the last year has increasingly influenced the association between the perception of an employer’s preparation for negative external events and employees’ sense of personal job security.

June 22, 2021, Sunnyvale, Calif. – Prevedere, a predictive analytics software company that delivers insights into future business outcomes based on economic trends, today released the findings of a new study in which 75% of employed Americans say they now link their personal job security to their company’s ability to forecast and plan for another economic downturn. The study, which surveyed more than 1,000 employed Americans, aimed to better understand their employment experience facing lay-offs and furloughs during the pandemic and its impact on their current mindset. While most Americans say that the pandemic negatively affected their company’s workforce, 63.4% believe their company’s level of preparedness for an economic downturn directly impacted its need to lay-off or furlough employees in 2020. More importantly, 77.6% still do not believe their company is fully prepared to face another economic downturn.

“Companies with the ability to forecast for unforeseen external events can now leverage those investments to gain a new value, building confidence within their workforce and recruits,” said Rich Wagner, CEO of Prevedere. “It’s no secret that the mindset of Americans has evolved as a result of their experiences during the pandemic and economic downturn. Given the unprecedented challenges in workforce management that exist as a result of the current labor market, companies must be able to deploy any and all potential assets to support their efforts for recruiting and retaining talent.”

Prior to the pandemic, their company’s forecasting and business planning strategies were not top of mind for most Americans. But, given their experiences in the last year and the continued market volatility, it is of greater importance for 62.6% of employees, which results in more than half of Americans revealing that they are more likely to work for an employer that is displaying these capabilities.

This should be concerning to most companies. While 82.8% of Americans said their employer wasn’t fully prepared prior to the previous pandemic, more than three-quarters of Americans still do not believe their company is currently in a better position. Additionally, there is an overwhelming belief shared by the respondents (78%) that their company has not made enough investments in this area. This sentiment could be a result of lack of communication from companies about this issue, as more than 50% said their employer has not recently provided any information about new technologies or strategies that will help the company be better prepared to handle future economic downturns.

“Typically, communications about business forecasting and planning are limited to executive teams, board members, and investors,” added Wagner. “As companies evolve their strategies for retention, it could prove valuable to develop a communications strategy that informs and educates employees about their company’s investments and strategies for facing new challenges due to market uncertainty and volatility.”

To learn more about the study: https://prevedere.com/american-workers-viewpoint/

About Prevedere
Prevedere is a predictive analytics software company that delivers insights into future business outcomes based on economic trends. Our predictive economic intelligence offering helps executives see what lies ahead for their business and solve for upcoming risks and opportunities. Our SaaS solutions apply the power of machine learning and predictive modeling to millions of indicators of global economic and consumer activity. Prevedere customers include Fortune 500 industry leaders in retail, manufacturing, and consumer packaged goods. To learn more, visit http://www.prevedere.com and follow @Prevedere on Twitter.