COLUMBUS, Ga., Sept. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Covid-19
pandemic and its impact, political debates and social unrest in
2020 threatened to divide our nation. But despite societal tensions
and the burdens of sickness, a shaken economy and personnel
shortage, people came together and agreed on one thing: their
support and commitment to small businesses. While the pandemic
seemed destined to hurt relationships, Aflac's 2021 Business
Culture Survey reveals how business owners, customers and employees
actually built community as parties pulled together to weather
adversity.
"As people were dealing with the isolation of the pandemic and
round-the-clock reports of its impact on communities at home and
around the world, we expected a corresponding diminished sense of
unity, but when it comes to support for small businesses, our
survey found the opposite was true," said Aflac Senior Vice President of Distribution
Expansion and Consumer Markets, Jeramy
Tipton. "We were encouraged to see that the small-town
culture of care between local businesses and their communities was
not severed, but actually strengthened, including small-business
owners finding a renewed sense of care when it comes to the
well-being of their employees and customers."
According to the survey, support for small businesses in the
community is near universal, even breaking through ideological
divides that exist within the country. Whether left-leaning or
right-leaning, urban or rural, consumers remain united in their
support for small businesses:
- 59% of left-leaning and 61% of right-leaning consumers are
willing to pay more at local businesses for the same product they
can find online, with 59% of urban and 62% of rural consumers also
willing to do so.
- 69% of left-leaning and 70% of right-leaning consumers are
willing to forgo the convenience of online ordering to shop at
local small businesses, with 70% of urban, and 69% of rural
consumers also willing to do so.
Though 45% of small businesses reported decreased profits,
small-business owners showed strong support by investing in their
employees and communities:
- 81% reported that they maintained or grew closer to their
employees, and 53% became more informed of their employees'
personal lives.
- 76% said they maintained or increased closeness to their
customers, and 51% saw the relationship between their customers and
employees improve.
- 81% felt retaining talent was as or more important than
previous years. In fact, 82% maintained or increased benefits for
their employees.
- 80% maintained or increased their level of community
involvement, regardless of location or business type.
"With the overwhelming majority of small businesses reporting
that they maintained or increased benefits for employees during the
pandemic, the sense of responsibility often seen in the tight-knit
small-business community is alive and well," Tipton said. "Much
like Aflac's desire to help people when they need it most, it is
clear from our survey that community-minded small-business
employers share this commitment to help protect their employees
during their most challenging times."
Just as the pandemic produced greater appreciation by
small-business owners for employees, consumers reciprocated, upping
their appreciation for small businesses as well:
- 49% of small-business patrons tipped or spent more to support
their local businesses, including 45% of those who also reported a
decrease in personal income.
- 62% of consumers were willing to spend more for an item to
support a local business.
- In making purchase decisions, almost as many consumers consider
how a business treats employees (58%) as they do customer service
(62%), and 83% say they are more likely to frequent businesses that
treat their employees well.
The 2021 Aflac Business Culture Survey is part of Aflac's Care
in Motion: The Small-Business Story campaign, which will highlight
small-business stories of resilience.
For the full findings from the 2021 Aflac Business Culture
Survey, visit SurveyResults.Aflac.com. Watch a video of the
findings here.
About Aflac Incorporated
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is a Fortune 500 company helping
provide protection to more than 50 million people through its
subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S., where it is a leading
supplemental insurer, by paying cash fast when policyholders get
sick or injured. For more than six decades, insurance policies of
Aflac Incorporated's subsidiaries have given policyholders the
opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. Aflac Life
Insurance Japan is the leading provider of medical and cancer
insurance in Japan, where it insures 1 in 4 households. For 15
consecutive years, Aflac Incorporated has been recognized
by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical
Companies. In 2021, Fortune included Aflac Incorporated on its list
of World's Most Admired Companies for the 20th time, and Bloomberg
added Aflac Incorporated to its Gender-Equality Index, which tracks
the financial performance of public companies committed to
supporting gender equality through policy development,
representation and transparency, for the second consecutive year.
To find out how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn't
cover, get to know us
at Aflac.com or Aflac.com/Espanol.
About the 2021 Aflac Business Culture Survey
Research findings are based on a survey fielded online
May 11, 2021, among 1,905 American
adults age 18+ by KWI Communications. Completed interviews were
weighted by age, sex and geographic region to ensure reliable and
accurate representation of the total U.S. population, 18 years of
age and older. A separate online survey of 776 small-business
owners was fielded from May 11-27,
2021, by KWI Communications. Various demographic variables
were collected on these owners, including geography, age, business
size and business industry. "Small business" was defined as a
business with at least two but no more than 200 employees.
Media contact – Jon A. Sullivan,
706-763-4813 or Jsullivan@aflac.com
Analyst and investor contact – David A.
Young, 706.596.3264, 800.235.2667 or dyoung@aflac.com
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SOURCE Aflac