Reputation Leaders polled 1,000 U.S. adults.

NEW YORK — With votes from this week’s presidential election still being counted and COVID-19 cases approaching the 10 million mark, a survey recently conducted by Reputation Leaders found six in 10 Americans reported both their health and finances were impacted by COVID-19.

Photo by https://unsplash.com/@bermixstudio

A survey of 1000 U.S. adults nationally found 47% of Americans had self-isolated to protect their health while 18% said their health had suffered during COVID-19. Over half, 57% of adults have been impacted financially during COVID-19. On a positive note, nearly half (48%) of adults surveyed reported receiving Federal stimulus money.

The CARES Act channeled an enormous $2trn into the U.S. economy, supporting families and small businesses, but it expired in August. With no political consensus on more stimulus, The Economist estimated America’s poverty rate to have risen from 9.3% in June to 11.1% in September.

Due to the pandemic, 14% the the survey reported losing jobs or being furloughed.15% said they had used savings or pay-day loans to get by. While respect for the Federal government has diminished, American’s are still admiring the fine job being done during COVID-19 by medical staff, frontline workers, local businesses, and restaurants. Reflecting an admiration for the frontline workers, the American retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target have most improved their reputation during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, opinion is divided as some see the same brands having damaged their reputation. 45% could name a brand with an improved reputation during the COVID-19 pandemic, 38% could name a damaged brand.

The study also reported that protecting employees, keeping products available through resilient supply chains, and not profiteering from the crisis are ways companies can protect their brand reputation during the pandemic. Although 62% of workers said they were proud to work for their employer, many (55%) of those surveyed couldn’t think of any brands that had improved their reputation during the COVID-19 pandemic.  This suggests employers are doing a good job communicating internally but could boost their external brand communications.

Full results are downloadable at https://www.reputationleaders.ltd/media/midcovid19poll-wave-2/