A new report by law firm Winckworth Sherwood found 51% of employees believe job security is more important when considering whether to remain at their current employer than it was before the pandemic.
A further 40% said flexibility is now more important than salary too.
It found employees also feel compassionate leadership supported them more than pay during the past year.
Around half (48%) of the employers surveyed said they felt they had been compassionate when dealing with workplace issues since the outbreak of coronavirus, though 18% of employees asked felt their work could have been more compassionate.
Employee care packages, allowing more time for meaningful consultation around workplace changes and additional flexibility for employees who are home-schooling were given as examples of companies understanding workers' needs.
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Employers (78%) and employees (73%) were largely aligned in the belief that employers have handled workplace matters well as a result of the pandemic.
Mark Hendy, founder of HR consultancy Hendy HR, said this is a testament to how incredibly well HR have operated in extremely difficult circumstances.
Speaking to HR magazine, he said: “HR has played a critical role in ensuring the transition to new working models, under the constraints of COVID-19, has been as smooth and comfortable as possible. These results show that this has, for the most part, been successful.
“The enormity of this challenge, and therefore this success, should not be underestimated.”
