Almost one in two employees say they are now less career focused as a result of Covid-19, while more than a third say their work/ life balance has improved since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Aviva’s latest report draws on research from the past 18 months to show the UK’s changing relationship with work. This highlights issues of wellbeing, work-life balance and the changing nature of employee/ employer relationships.
Aviva says the report shows the gender divisions behind many people’s pandemic experience and highlights diverse attitudes towards hybrid working that will challenge employers to tailor their responses.
The report’s findings show that 35 per cent of workers feel their work/ life balance has improved, one in five (20 per cent) have been negatively impacted, while a similar percentage (21 per cent) report a negative impact on how they feel about their job.
More than two in five (44 per cent) employees feel they can never switch off from work, while nearly as many (39 per cent) feel their employer does not encourage them to do so outside of their contracted hours. One result of this always-on, ever-present culture is that 40 per cent of employees are concerned about work-related burnout.
While both men and women are equally likely (52 per cent) to feel the boundaries between work and home are “increasingly blurred”, the impacts are visibly fractured along gender lines. Aviva’s findings show women are:
- More likely to report a negative impact on their work/life balance (24 per cent vs 16 per cent of men)
- Noticeably more concerned about the risk of work-related burnout (46 per cent vs 35 per cent of men)
- More likely to feel life has become more challenging over the last six months (77 per cent vs 72 per cent of men)
- Less likely to feel hard work entitles them to claim back “me” time during work hours (64 per cent vs72 per cent of men)
Aviva’s findings show the working population has diverse preferences when it comes to designing the optimal working week. Nearly as many people (14 per cent) would prefer to work full-time in the office as feel their most productive arrangement means working from home five days a week (15 per cent).
The study suggests employers will need to carefully examine how they bring people back into the workplace to avoid deepening the gender divide, with the risk that those – often women – with primary care roles for their children or parents are put under increasing strain.
Aviva’s research also highlights generational differences in people’s priorities in their current jobs. When it comes to working patterns, adults in Gen X – aged 40-54 – are almost twice as likely to prefer full-time home working as those in Gen Z, aged 18-24 (15 per cent vs 8 per cent).
More than one in three (34 per cent) adults in Gen Z rank the social aspect of being with or around other people at work as their number one priority. This compares with just 20 per cent across all age groups.
Debbie Bullock, wellbeing lead at Aviva, comments: “Employees will look for something in return to encourage them back to the office, and employers must ensure offices become a destination for collaborating, mentoring and socialising to rebuild relationships.
“It is also vitally important that people are treated as individuals, rather than employers trying to impose a one-size-fits-all approach. The pandemic may have been a collective experience, but the impact has been fragmented in so many ways, with women especially facing particularly acute stresses from the blurring of lines between home and work.
“An always-on, ever-present culture is guaranteed to end with people’s batteries depleted, and it is essential that employers recognise long-term productivity is only possible if you make space for wellbeing to flourish at work. Businesses who choose to plough on regardless will discover to their cost that if you can’t make time for staff wellness, you will be forced to make time for illness and live with the repercussions.”
Danny Harmer, chief people officer at Aviva adds: “People need to do their work in the place that produces the best outcome for the organisation, the customer and employees. Aviva, for example, is creating five profiles that suggest what proportion of time is best spent in the office.
“Rather than having pre-set rules, we are encouraging our leaders to use these frameworks and engage with colleagues to implement an approach that works for their business area. In practice it will be an interplay of their role and working environments together with the ebb and flow of work demands.
“As the office becomes the venue for collaboration rather than solitary work, then synchronising schedules within teams will also be a priority.”
