The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted a shift in employee attitudes, as they now look towards where and how they want to work.
New patterns of living and working have led to many UK workers reassessing their relationship with the workplace, according to industry, business, with nearly half (47%) of workers feeling less career-focused as a result.
More than a third (35%) feel their work/life balance has improved during the pandemic, while a fifth (20%) feel it has been negatively impacted. A similar percentage (21%) also reported a negative impact on how they feel about their job.
More than two fifths (44%) feel they can never switch off from work, while nearly the same amount (39%) feel their employer does not encourage them to do so outside of their contracted hours, leading to 40% of employees feeling concerned about work-related burnout.
Women were found to be more worried about burnout with 46% expressing concerns versus 35% of men. Women were also more likely to feel life has become more challenging (77%) compared to their male counterparts (72%).
Aviva’s findings also revealed a range of views when it comes to a post-pandemic working pattern. Nearly three quarters (73%) preferred a hybrid model with a combination of office and home working. One in six (15%) would prefer to work from home full time, while a similar number (14%) would like to work full time in the workplace.
More than two in three women (67%) said complete flexibility around the hours they work during the day would make them more productive. Among men, the number was slightly lower (62%).
Women were also found to be more likely to say flexible working will play a bigger role in future career and job decisions (71%) compared to men (67%).
Aviva’s research also highlighted generational differences in attitudes to work, with employees aged between 40-54 almost twice as likely to prefer full-time homeworking than younger workers aged 18-24.
More than a third (34%) of younger employees ranked the social aspect of being around other people their top priority, compared to 20% across other age groups. Meanwhile, those aged between 40-54 were most likely to cherish work-life balance more than any other group, with nearly half (47%) stating it as their single biggest priority.
Debbie Bullock, wellbeing lead at Aviva, said: “The journey towards the workplace of the future has been accelerated by the pandemic.
“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.”
