Dive Brief:
- A Glassdoor analysis of more than 130,000 job reviews posted by U.S. interns showed a 385% increase in remote work mentions between 2019 and 2020 amid the pandemic's onset, and the share of negative mentions has grown since that time.
- Glassdoor found 58% of relevant reviews posted between June and September 2020 mentioned remote work negatively. By last summer, 70% of intern reviews mentioned remote work negatively. Glassdoor said several such reviews commonly cited difficulties with communication and connection. By contrast, the share of negative reviews by full- and part-time employees remained steady.
- The analysis also identified the 25 organizations with the highest median monthly pay for interns in 2022. Online gaming platform Roblox took the top spot with median monthly pay in excess of $9,000. Uber, Capital One, Salesforce and Amazon, all of which offered median monthly pay of $8,000 or more, rounded out the top five.
Dive Insight:
For companies seeking to build a pipeline of IT talent, tracking intern preferences is critical. Amid near-record low levels of unemployment in IT, internship programs can help expand the pool of available technology workers.
COVID-19's first wave had a mixed impact on internships. While some employers transitioned their programs to a virtual, off-site format, others delayed or canceled internships altogether.
Even companies that decided to continue their programs virtually may have faced constraints on internal resources and the need to simultaneously support employees and interns remotely.
Office reopening conversations can already be a fraught subject for younger workers, with some commentators noting the possibility that new workers could lose out on important social connections afforded by in-person work.
Moreover, stakeholders have offered up differing assessments of the move to remote internships.
After launching a virtual program in April 2020, Microsoft has since announced its 2022 internships "will be built for in-person and virtual experiences" while allowing interns to co-create their experiences. Others who previously spoke to HR Dive noted hesitancy on the part of employers to continue the virtual model out of concern about connectivity.
Yet some organizations have managed to maintain cultural traditions and facetime within virtual internships through structured processes. Accessible technology platforms can allow interns to operate in the same environment as their peers.
