Zest Barometer: Average mood at work deteriorates during lockdown

Sharing our mood at work is a daily ritual that, at Zest, also works as a social barometer. Not only does it allow us to constantly monitor how teams really feel, but it also creates an alert system that allows us to pinpoint potentially problematic situations.

These uncertain times of crisis that have led to a lockdown represent a period of increased stress and isolation for a lot of employees. Sharing their moods is a way of maintaining the connection with their colleagues.

2020 Review of the impact of the crisis on teams’ moods

What we have identified over the last few weeks was no surprise: after the lockdown announcement, the average work mood of employees using Zest (whether working from home or in contact with the public) has significantly dropped.

We have observed significant variations in moods from more than one hundred customers. Both in terms of volume and ratings.

Our analysis

• The amount of low moods has significantly increased: this is a sign of the higher stress levels, especially for people in contact with the public and first-time home-based workers.
• The daily volume of moods being shared is increasing: an indicator of the need for sharing and contact with others for people on lockdown.

During the crisis, we will weekly update you on the evolution of the mood at work.

We are an employee engagement solution and, during these difficult times, we believe it is essential to do everything we can to help you make your organizations more effective and fulfilling.

This includes sharing our data through the Zest Barometer. Every week, we will share the evolution of the mood at work with you to help you better understand the impact of the crisis on teams and organizations. As we can see, the moods at work have been deteriorating with isolation. Management rituals must be kept up and evolve towards practices more adapted to the new work organization.

More than ever it is important to support your teams, strengthen the bonds and communicate more frequently, in order to identify situations of stress and isolation and act accordingly.

Take care of yourselves and your teams, so we can get through these difficult times as calmly as possible and, above all, together. 💚