Abstract
Changing lifestyles and working patterns are transforming the composition of the UK' s labour market. At the same time, there has been a noticeable shift in political, academic and media focus onto the ‘quality’ of work as opposed to merely the quantity of jobs. This shift in focus has occurred at a time of rising employment and low unemployment, and has been fuelled, in part, by the continuing steady growth in female workforce participation, as well as legislative change. The issue of work-life balance has, therefore, come to the forefront of the political - and corporate - agenda.
Table of Contents
- Issues in the Market
- Scope of the report
- Abbreviations
- Insights and Opportunities
- Opportunities abound
- Freedom of choice
- Employer/HR trade fairs provide targeting opportunities
- Convenience at a premium
- Longer working lives enable longer loan terms
- Improved rights for part-time workers will boost new pensions business
- Other growth areas
- Report in Brief
- An expanding workforce
- New legislation supports the shift towards more flexible working
- Modern life pressures increase the need for work-life balance
- Implications for financial companies
- Responding to changing customer needs
- Guiding consumers through a myriad available options
- Product innovation
- Improving access
- The main findings of Mintel' s consumer survey
- Availability of flexible working practices and family-friendly policies
- Figure 1: Flexible working practices and family-friendly policies
offered by employer, January 2007
- The most common staff benefits...
- Figure 2: Top 15 benefits offered by employers, January 2005
- ...versus the most desired
- Figure 3: Top 15 benefits employees would like introduced at their
workplace, January 2005
- Research highlights the many pressures on workers' time...
- ...and supports the idea that a valued benefits package can improve staff
retention
- Staff want flexibility and freedom of choice
- Background
- What is work-life balance?
- Why is it important?
- The business benefits
- Progress already made
- Legislative background
- Working Time Regulations
- Parental and dependency leave
- New rules to improve the rights of part-time and fixed-term employees
- Flexible working law
- Improved maternity and paternity rights
- Tackling discrimination in the workplace
- Progress made
- Employment Relations Act 2004
- Work and Families Act 2006
- What does this all mean for the financial sector?
- Employment Trends
- The changing nature of the UK labour market
- There are 1.2 million private sector employers in the UK
- Figure 4: Number of enterprises, employees and turnover in the private
sector -- UK, start 2005
- Implication and opportunity
- London and the South East house the largest number of employers
- Figure 5: Number of enterprises in the private sector, by number of
employees and region -- UK, start 2005
- Service industries dominate the UK economy
- Figure 6: Number of enterprises in the private sector, by number of
employees and industry sector -- UK, start 2005
- A fifth of the UK' s workforce are employed in the public sector
- Figure 7: Total in employment: private versus public sector -- UK,
2001-06
- Employment expansion
- Over a million workers are past pension age
- Figure 8: Number of working-age adults in employment and economic
activity rate, by gender -- UK, 1996-2006
- Women comprise a growing proportion of the UK workforce
- Implication
- The implications of an ageing labour force
- Figure 9: Number of economically active adults and economic activity
rate, by age group -- UK, 2006
- Implication and opportunity
- There are nearly 4 million self-employed
- Figure 10: Number of employees and self-employed workers -- UK, 1996-2006
- Rise in part-time work opportunities...
- Figure 11: Number of part-time and temporary workers and those with
second jobs -- UK, 1996-2006
- ...while use of temporary contracts declines
- Over a million workers have second jobs
- Home-based working...
- ...is on the increase
- Figure 12: Proportion of homeworkers and teleworkers among those in
employment, 1997-2005
- Implication
- The bigger picture
- From teleworking to virtual working
- Roughly one in six full-time workers have changed jobs within the past year
- Figure 13: Illustration of job mobility, 2006
- The implications of greater job mobility
- Figure 14: Length of service of employees in the UK, 1986-2002
- Implication and opportunity
- Lifestyle Motivation
- Shifting social trends increase need for flexible working patterns
- Figure 15: Summary of social and demographic drivers, 2007
- Rise in divorcees and lone-parent families
- More working mothers
- Around one in eight full-time workers are carers
- Pressures of a 24/7 society
- UK workers work the longest hours in Europe
- A fifth of full-time workers say they work 10+ hours a day
- Figure 16: Time spent on occupation per day in an average week by
full-time workers, 2002 and 2006
- Blurring the boundaries
- Convenience has become a lifestyle priority
- Figure 17: Proportion of adults and workers who are prepared to pay more
for products than make life easier, 2003 and 2007
- Implication and opportunity
- Most workers say they are happy with their lot
- Figure 18: Agreement with statements about work and family, 2006
- Financial Sector Response and Innovation
- Responding to a work-life balance agenda
- Figure 19: Summary of financial sector responses to changing working
patterns and social trends, 2007
- More focus on access, less on location
- New technology has driven change in the way people manage their finances...
- ...but, for many, the branch is still best
- Much product innovation centres on convenience
- Bringing things together: all-in-one and offset accounts
- Implication and opportunity
- Wrapping it up: wrap accounts
- A young market
- Implication and opportunity
- Account aggregation
- Safety first
- Implication and opportunity
- Adapting to changing customer needs: flexible mortgages
- Implication and opportunity
- Extended mortgage terms to more easily manage larger loans
- Implication and opportunity
- Fixing for life
- Implication and opportunity
- Inter-generational or ' deathbed' mortgages
- Widening availability: the non-conforming mortgage market
- Self-certification mortgages
- The self-employed must be self-reliant
- New risks require a different kind of protection
- Differentiated household insurance...
- Implication and opportunity
- ...and lower motor premiums for homeworkers
- Annual travel insurance boosted by growth in multiple holidays
- Implication and opportunity
- PMI -- scope to target smaller firms
- Rewarding healthy lifestyles with lower premiums
- Increasing flexibility in the pensions market
- Implications of a new regime
- The success of SIPPs
- Education and advice through the workplace
- Worksite activities
- The next step
- Trade Perspective
- AEGON Scottish Equitable -- advocating a full benefits package
- Ceridian -- helping employers get the most out of their reward package
- Friends Provident -- valuing pensions and improving financial literacy
- JLT -- providing flexible benefits solutions
- Prudential UK -- allotting time for financial planning
- The Consumer 1 -- Flexible Working
- About Mintel' s consumer survey
- Seven tenths of the workforce are permanent employees
- Figure 20: Working status -- main job, by gender, January 2007
- Almost half of the female workforce are employed on a part-time basis
- Figure 21: Proportion of workers working full- or part-time, by gender,
January 2007
- Workforce profile
- Figure 22: Profile of workers, by gender, age, socio-economic group,
lifestage and region, January 2007
- Casual workers are more likely to be employed by small organisations
- Figure 23: Number of people employed at respondent' s workplace, January
2007
- Part-time working is available in around half of respondent workplaces
- Figure 24: Flexible working practices and family-friendly policies
offered by employer, January 2007
- Temporary and casual staff generally fare less well
- Larger organisations tend to be more flexible
- Figure 25: Flexible working practices and family-friendly policies
offered by employer, by size of organisation, January 2007
- Women are keener on working for firms that offer family-friendly policies
- Figure 26: Flexible working practices and family-friendly policies
offered by employer, by gender and lifestage, January 2007
- Those aged 45-54 are most likely to work flexitime
- Figure 27: Flexible working practices and family-friendly policies
offered by employer, by age group, January 2007
- ABs have greater access to homeworking opportunities
- Figure 28: Flexible working practices and family-friendly policies
offered by employer, by socio-economic group, January 2007
- Regional variations
- Figure 29: Flexible working practices and family-friendly policies
offered by employer, by region, January 2007
- The Consumer 2 -- Employee Benefits
- Historic context: providing benefits to build on welfare provision
- In pursuit of greater flexibility
- Top employee benefit is a company pension
- Figure 30: Benefits currently offered by employer, by working status,
January 2007
- Implication and opportunity
- Non-pension savings schemes are becoming more popular, especially with
younger employees
- Implication and opportunity
- In-house provision
- One in ten full-time employees have worksite access to financial advice
- Implication and opportunity
- Scope to improve corporate take-up of general insurance products
- Implication and opportunity
- Repertoire analysis shows how full-time employees fare better than their
part-time counterparts
- Figure 31: Number of benefits currently offered by employer, by working
status, January 2007
- The more flexible employers are, the more generous they tend to be
- Figure 32: Number of benefits currently offered by employer, by number
of types of flexible working practices, January 2007
- Implication and opportunity
- The most sought-after benefit is a dental care plan
- Figure 33: Benefits employees would like introduced, by working status,
January 2007
- Large firms are most likely to offer subsidised financial products...
- Figure 34: Benefits currently offered by employer, by size of
organisation, January 2007
- ...and, generally, are more generous
- Figure 35: Number of benefits currently offered by employer, by size of
organisation, January 2007
- Small-firm employees are most keen for their employer to introduce staff
perks
- Figure 36: Benefits employees would like introduced, by size of
organisation, January 2007
- Implication and opportunity
- ABs are most likely to be offered a range of staff benefits
- Figure 37: Benefits currently offered by employer, by gender and
socio-economic group, January 2007
- Preferences vary between the sexes
- Figure 38: Benefits employees would like introduced, by gender and
socio-economic group, January 2007
- 18-24-year-olds favour a savings scheme over a pension
- Figure 39: Top five benefits employees would like introduced, by age
group and lifestage, January 2007
- Implication and opportunity
- The Consumer 3 -- Finance & the Workplace
- Work pressures dictate how and when people manage their financial affairs
- Figure 40: Agreement with statements relating to managing finances and
work, by working status, January 2007
- Part-time workers are less likely to change jobs
- Around a tenth of workers stay in their jobs because of the benefits...
- Implication and opportunity
- ...rising to a fifth among those who work for large organisations
- Figure 41: Agreement with statements relating to managing finances and
work, by size of organisation, January 2007
- Cluster analysis
- What is cluster analysis?
- Figure 42: Work-life balance clusters, January 2007
- Cluster composition
- Figure 43: Agreement with statements relating to managing finances and
work, by cluster, January 2007
- Boundary Markers
- Worksite Planners
- Flexible Followers
- Online Organisers
- Time Pressured
- Worksite Planners comprise an above-average proportion of small business
owners
- Figure 44: Working status, by cluster, January 2007
- Large organisations attract more Worksite Planners, Online Organisers and
Time Pressured individuals
- Figure 45: Size of organisation, by cluster, January 2007
- Implication and opportunity
- Flexible Followers benefit from a wide range of flexible working practices
- Figure 46: Flexible working practices and financial support offered by
employer, by cluster, January 2007
- Worksite Planners and Online Organisers do best when it comes to staff
benefits
- Figure 47: Benefits currently offered by employer, by cluster, January
2007
- The greatest demand for benefits comes from the Time Pressured group
- Figure 48: Benefits would like to see introduced, by cluster, January
2007
- Women are much more likely than men to be Flexible Followers
- Figure 49: Clusters, by gender, age, socio-economic group, working
status, marital status and lifestage, January 2007
- The higher income groups comprise an above-average proportion of Worksite
Planners
- Figure 50: Clusters, by tenure, gross annual household income, region
and ACORN category, January 2007
- Broadband users are more likely to be Online Organisers
- Figure 51: Clusters, by new technology usage, newspaper readership,
commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, January 2007
- Implication and opportunity
- The Consumer 4 -- New Horizons
- Most workers say they have a good balance between work and home life
- Figure 52: Agreement with three statements, by working status, January
2007
- Implication and opportunity
- Those with access to flexible working find it easier to achieve work-life
balance
- Figure 53: Agreement with statement about work-life balance, by number
of flexible working practices in place, January 2007
- The more benefits people have access to, the more they want choice
- Figure 54: Agreement with statement about having a choice of benefits,
by number of benefits currently offered by employer, January 2007
- Flexible Followers are most likely to have work-life balance
- Figure 55: Agreement with statements, by cluster, January 2007
- Strong demand for worksite financial advice among those employed at large
firms
- Figure 56: Agreement with statements, by size of organisation, January
2007
- Implication and opportunity
- Younger workers want more choice
- Figure 57: Agreement with statements, by gender, age, socio-economic
group, working status, marital status and lifestage, January 2007
- Implication and opportunity
- More money does not necessarily translate into a better work-life balance
- Figure 58: Agreement with statements, by tenure, gross annual household
income, region and ACORN category, January 2007
- Implication and opportunity
- Further analysis
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