More branches are open but fears grow about job security – poll results

When we ran a poll in June, a month after the housing market had reopened after lockdown, we found that just under half of respondent’s branches were fully open and that just under 10% remained closed.

Yesterday we asked the same questions and the responses show that now, two-thirds of branches are fully open.

Slightly surprising is the finding that nearly 7% of branches are still closed. Perhaps this is something to do with permanent closures as firms change their business model and retreat from high street premises?

In the light of almost daily news that yet another firm is making redundancies it comes as no surprise to find that whilst an increased majority of people feel secure in their jobs, there is a significant rise in the proportion who now feel very concerned about their job security.

Of course we accept that this is simply an unscientific straw poll but in respect of job security, assuming most responses are from employees, employers should pay close attention to how their staff may be feeling about the security of their jobs.

We have published stories in recent weeks that highlight the differences in how firms communicate with, and treat, their staff – it ranges from very poor to excellent.

Good communication and as much transparency as possible might help allay the concerns of a significant proportion of the industry’s staff.