In a follow-up to a 2015 study, city Comptroller Scott Stringer is looking for the latest data on how New Yorkers are finding a work-life balance as the pandemic reaches its ninth month.
In the new survey, the comptroller aims to gather information on how city dwellers engage with work and family in a world where working from home is commonplace and working with the general public can come with the baggage of exposure to COVID-19.
According to Stringer, this will inform policy makers on workplace practices going to into the future.
“We want to hear directly from working New Yorkers about their experience with workplace flexibility, especially during the pandemic. I encourage New Yorkers to complete the survey to help policymakers deliver informed solutions that ensure modern workplace practices,” Stringer said. “This is about more than just work-life balance—no family should have to choose between taking care of their kids and earning a paycheck. If we want to tap our City’s full economic potential, we have to provide protections for New Yorkers who need it the most—including women, single parents, low-income workers, and frontline workers who are facing extraordinary challenges of full-time caregiving while trying to make ends meet.”
One of the ways the study will examine home life is through the lens of women.
Of the 1.1 million who have left their jobs since the start of the pandemic, 80% were women, according to Stringer, and the study will take into account the experiences of females taking on the burden of caretakers in the COVID-19 era.
“The pandemic has laid bare the impossible choice too many workers—disproportionately women—face between caring for loved ones and earning a paycheck. As we know from speaking directly with countless workers, New Yorkers need workplace flexibility and support to stay attached to the workforce,” Dina Bakst, Co-Founder of A Better Balance, said.
The organization, which is partnering with Stringer on the survey, focuses on advancing policies at the national level that benefit workers across the country.
Find the survey here to contribute to the study.
