ZCZC
BCN-09
RUSSIA-VIRUS-FINANCE-POLL
Almost half of Russians suffered financial losses due to coronavirus pandemic: poll
MOSCOW, Nov 24, 2020 (BSS/TASS) – Almost half of the 1,000 surveyed Russian citizens suffered financial losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a joint survey of the ONF Business Platform and the Online Doctor service, the study was conducted throughout the country from November 12 to 20.
“The poll showed that 49 per cent of the surveyed Russians were financially affected by the pandemic, 41.2pc of respondents had income unchanged, and 2.4pc improved their financial situation. Another 7.3pc lost their jobs,” the survey said.
According to the study, more than half (57pc) of respondents said that their employer “left everything unchanged.” At the same time, 23.9pc of respondents had their payroll reduced, and 10.1pc of citizens had wage delays, but by agreement with employees. In only 8.9pc of respondents, the employer began to lay off employees.
“The ways to get out of the current crisis are very similar. For example, 53.7pc of respondents said that their company has reduced costs and is waiting for the end of the pandemic. In 37.8pc cases, management has begun to optimize processes in the company. And only 8.6pc of respondents saw their employers launch new products,” the survey said.
In addition, 71.1pc of respondents believe that 10pc of existing businesses will not survive the second wave of coronavirus. But 70.3pc are sure that their enterprise has fully adapted to the new realities and will be able to work for a long time in the current operating mode. The pandemic has also pushed many to make changes in their lives. Thus, 46.2pc are thinking about retraining, and 9pc of them have already started this process. Another 28.4pc thought about a new business, of which 3.9pc have already taken their first steps in this direction.
“We all understand that today entrepreneurs are in a difficult situation. The most important condition for the survival of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is the speedy restructuring of all processes and the search for new business models. Our survey shows that entrepreneurs are gradually starting to do this, but, unfortunately, there are still not many of them. It seems to me that representatives of SMEs should rather think about optimizing processes within their business,” co-founder and head of the ONF Business Platform Mikhail Paley said.
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