Investors and IROs across all cap sizes believe the Covid-19 pandemic will lead to a permanent change in working practices, according to the IR Magazine research report Covid-19 Update. The report highlights that 84 percent of respondents either agree or strongly agree that the pandemic will alter IR work permanently, an increase on last year’s Covid-19 and IR report where the figure stood at 69 percent. ‘The view that Covid-19 has led to a permanent change in working practices is one of the most definitive and universal findings in this report,’ say the report authors.
In early 2020 many companies across the globe began to work virtually as work and travel restrictions came into force for the Covid-19 pandemic. The report shows that nearly eight in 10 respondents believe virtual meetings and events will continue to have at least a moderate effect post-pandemic, with 42 percent saying it will have a large or extreme impact.
The report also highlights that remote working is viewed most positively in North America and by small/mid-cap IROs. In Asia, however, remote working is viewed less positively. Interestingly, Asia is more likely than other regions to think remote working will have a large or extreme impact on work patterns in the future.
With Covid-19 restrictions either banning or limiting travel, investor and IRO respondents in the updated report expect less travel to continue after the pandemic, with 35 percent believing it will have a large or extreme impact on their work, and only 11 percent anticipating it will have no impact.
Click here to view the Covid-19 Update report and here to visit IR Magazine’s library of research reports.
