Poll: 1 in 4 have considered quitting job over pandemic concerns

About 25 percent of American workers said in a new poll that they have thought of quitting their jobs due to safety concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

Lower-income workers are more likely to have considered quitting, according to the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey released Monday, with 39 percent of workers whose household earns less than $30,000 saying they have thought about it. Only 23 percent of respondents in higher-income households said the same.

John Roman, a senior fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago, said the survey found hourly workers are more likely to have considered quitting.

“This is perhaps the most surprising finding,” he told the AP. “The people who can least afford to lose their jobs are leaving jobs in higher numbers. But it fits with the story that they feel unsafe health-wise.”

Twenty percent of respondents told pollsters that they have taken leave during the pandemic. 

And about 70 percent of workers said balancing their other responsibilities with their jobs has compounded their stress.

Numerous studies have found Black and Hispanic Americans are hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and the survey indicates a similar disparity. Sixty-two percent of Black workers and 47 percent of Hispanic workers called the pandemic a major source of stress, while 39 percent of white workers said the same.

A majority of respondents also said in the poll that their employers have done a good job of accommodating concerns amid the pandemic. Fifty-seven percent of workers said their employers are doing “about the right amount,” while nearly a quarter, 24 percent, believe they are “going above and beyond.” Only 18 percent believe their employers are not doing enough. 

Pollsters surveyed 1,015 full- and part-time employees from Sept. 11 to 16. The results have a 4.2-point margin of error.