After COVID-19, mental health issues have been the biggest employee productivity disruptor in 2021. This is the first time this has entered the top 3 in the past six years. And this trend is set to continue in 2022, according to our respondents.
Natural disasters (including extreme weather events), is the third most likely disruptor predicted in 2022. Which correlates to concerns about climate change and its impact on business.
Followed by the perennial concerns about transport, security threats & civil unrest – all exacerbated by COVID-19.
TOP FIVE EXPECTED CAUSES OF EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY DECREASES IN 2022
AN EVOLVED TRIO OF HEALTH & SECURITY COMPLEXITY IS INCREASING WORKLOAD & costs:
Adequate resources to deal with COVID-19 and the ability to define vaccine and testing policies are the biggest challenges for organisations at present.
Around a fifth also cite motivating and educating employees about risk prevention as a key concern.
TOP FIVE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES FOR ORGANISATIONS IN 2022
100%
0%
Covid-19 (67%)
Mental health issues (36%)
Natural disasters
incl. extreme weather (21%)
Transport concerns (19%)
Security threats,
civil unrest & country
risk rating
(each at 16%)
50%
Decision-making speeds have got faster during the pandemic. With HR experiencing the best improvement.
Since the pandemic, 70% of
organisations say that their decision-making speeds have got faster.
HR have benefited more than
any other department (78% say decision making is faster).
70%
78%
What will the ‘new normal’ look like?
Just 15% working only at their organisation’s office or site
per week working
from home
2 Days
77% of organisations have adopted a hybrid
working approach
3 Days
per week working
at a site or office
WHAT ARE ORGANISATIONS DOING IN ORDER TO SUPPORT A SAFE RETURN TO NORMAL?
Top 3 support methods
Ability to communicate in a crisis unifies all employee types. But location-specific health & security information are priorities for business travel.
Vaccine assessments being most commonly added to assist in office working.
EMPLOYEES ARE MORE WILLING TO TRAVEL
FOR BUSINESS THAN WORK FROM THEIR ORGANISATION’S OFFICE OR SITE
Meeting friends at home
Meeting family at home
Visiting a healthcare facility
Going to the gym
Going shopping
Going to a restaurant or bar, etc.
Holiday in your own country
Going on holiday abroad
FIVE PREDICTIONS FOR 2022
1
2
3
4
5
C-Suite
& Board
Business
Resillience
Risk
Operations
Security
HR
HSE
HR and HSE are most likely to have joined a Crisis Management Team for the first time during the pandemic
HR and HSE have also experienced the largest responsibility increases
Health & safety measures
Regulatory compliance
Employee expectations
Crisis Management Team
working from home
89%
79%
75%
73%
72%
72%
71%
68%
67%
66%
65%
54%
48%
47%
meeting family at home
going on holiday in your own country
domestic business travel
going to a restaurant or bar
going shopping (excl. online)
working at site
meeting friends at home
working in the office
going to the gym
international business travel
international assignments
GOING ON HOLIDAY ABROAD
visiting a healthcare facility
business
travel
Office
working
HOME
WORKING
SITE
WORKING
view all
35%
10%
10%
9%
3%
1%
1%
27%
11%
15%
15%
6%
1%
1%
9%
8%
20%
26%
15%
2%
1%
21%
17%
18%
15%
5%
1%
1%
% of respondents
already returned
to normal
3 months
6 months
12 months
2 years
3 years
3 + years
Jan 2021
Feb 2021
Mar 2021
Apr 2021
May 2021
Jun 2021
Sep 2021
International SOS client trip volumes are growing 10% each month and domestic buisness travel has seen a seven-fold increase since the start of the pandemic (International SOS Tracker)
ORGANISATIONS ARE HOPEFUL THAT OFFICE WORKING & TRAVEL WILL REACH ‘NEW NORMAL’ BEFORE 2023
INTERNATIONAL & DOMESTIC BUSINESS TRAVEL IS GROWING
Responsible for:
In-country employees
Assignees
Remote workers
Business travellers
Students and faculty
Research Pillars
senior risk decision-makers
Workforce Resilience Council Views
Business Resilience Trends Survey
(1,000 participants)
COVID-19 Impact Scales
Location Medical & Security Risk Ratings
On-the-ground Health & Security
Intelligence Network
5
c.1,000
75
countries
Working from home
Working at site
Working in the office
Domestic business travel
International business travel
International assignments
home working
office working
site working
business travel
(WHERE ’NORMAL’ IS EITHER HOW IT WAS pre-pandemic OR HOW IT WILL BE FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE)
Tap to reveal*
hover to reveal*
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Hide new order
work
Personal life
Having adequate resources
to deal with covid-19
defining covid-19 vaccine
& testing policies
dealing with mental health issues
motivating employees to avoid risks
educating employees about risks
human resources
health, safety & environment
security
operations
risk management
60%
54%
32%
31%
30%
47%
32%
49%
16%
33%
25%
21%
20%
TWO
THIRDS
HOWEVER, ORGANISATIONS
ANTICIPATE FURTHER INCREASES
OR SIMILAR RISK LEVELS IN 2022
Anticipate risks to increase
or 'stay the same'
Increase
29%
Stay the same
37%
Increase
30%
Stay the same
36%
Increase
42%
Stay the same
27%
Increase
33%
Stay the same
34%
Increase
30%
Stay the same
39%
students & faculty
in-country working
business travel
assignees
remote workers
Hover to reveal*
International Trip Count
Asia (36%)
Europe (26%)
Americas (24%)
Australia & New Zealand (8%)
Africa & Middle East (5%)
International SOS Risk Map
In this 2022 edition of Risk Map, International SOS is providing the underlying health and security risk ratings for each location.
While the medical risk ratings reflect in part the general status of healthcare systems; local COVID-19 outbreaks and subsequent local responses may dynamically impact access. Therefore these should be reviewed in parallel with the COVID-19 Impact Scales ,
the COVID-19 current case status, and our medical and security alerts. Together, the medical & security risk ratings and COVID-19 impact scales provide a holistic view of the risks and COVID-19 impact in each location. Read more about our definitions
Jul 2021
Aug 2021
65% anticipate increases to their team’s workload to increase in 2022, with 62% saying costs have also increased.
Three quarters (76%) say they have increased their physical and/or mental health support levels.
More than half (56%) have increased both physical and mental health support.
Of which, a third plan a 50/50 investment in physical and mental health support in 2022.
Ability to locate our workforce
during critical events
Ability to communicate with our workforce during critical events
Access to emotional
support services
37%
48%
48%
Pre activity COVID-19
vaccine assessments
Access to emotional support services
Ability to communicate with our
workforce during critical events
34%
39%
43%
Access to location-specific
health information
Access to emotional support services
Ability to communicate with our
workforce during critical events
34%
39%
48%
Access to location-specific
security information
Access to location-specific
health information
Ability to communicate with our
workforce during critical events
Tap to reveal*
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Organisations intend to increase spending on both physical & mental health support in 2022
67%
36%
21%
19%
16%
Top causes of increased complexity:
58%
31%
41%
% say it is a main driver of increased complexity
% say their employees are willing to do activity
Read more
Mental health & COVID-19 will be primary employee productivity disruptors for the second year in a row, escalating absenteeism and continuity issues
Preventative complexity will be driven by an evolved Duty of Care trio: new health & safety measures, employee expectations, & regulatory compliance
All employee activities will reach a ‘new normal’ by end of 2022, as hybrid working and travel methods stabilise
Crisis comms, and location-specific information abilities will be the top initiatives for ensuring the safe ‘return to normal’ for all employee types
Organisation’s will utilise employee health & safety benefits to increase employee willingness to return to offices and sites
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Covid-19 (67%)
Mental health issues (36%)
Natural disasters
incl. extreme weather (21%)
Transport concerns (19%)
Security threats,
civil unrest & country
risk rating
(each at 16%)
Increase
29%
Stay the same
37%
Increase
30%
Stay the same
36%
Increase
42%
Stay the same
27%
Increase
33%
Stay the same
34%
Increase
30%
Stay the same
39%
students & faculty
in-country working
business travel
assignees
remote workers
![](https://media-s3-us-east-1.ceros.com/international-sos/images/2021/11/16/a67a9d052f71233d24379781f6915a84/home-icon.svg)