Journey to hybrid

The journey to hybrid working is being viewed in different ways. The employer is focused on location of work per number of days, how to get people back to the office, risk mitigation and leveraging approach for ESG/cost. Big concerns include fairness/equality of new approaches, client service and productivity, working together (it’s about us) and building leader and manager capability.

Employees are focused on ‘where’ and ‘when’ they work, ‘what’ they will return to, safety, return to travel and pay. Big concerns include fairness/equity of new approaches, autonomy and work life balance, working flexibly (it’s about me) and building trust.

Over last 24 months a lot of focus on “what” work looks like, from one end of the scale where the office is still the primary place of work, to the other end of the scale where the office is not an important part of work and the focus is on effectiveness. The majority of insurance companies fall towards the middle of the scale, with the office seen as an anchor or connector, with people spending an average of 2-3 days in the office, but with some level of variance by role type.

Having worked on the “what”, we are now seeing more of a trend towards the “how” we enable leaders to create purposeful experiences, design spaces for the right level of collaboration and connectivity and what work patterns they are trying to enable.

Demographics remain the key driver of new behaviours and formulation of and responses to company strategies. In terms of geography, smaller locations (e.g. a big employer in a town with a shorter commute) tend towards more of an office focus, whereas in big cities there tends to be more employee resistance to having to go to the office. Allowing employees to fully choose for themselves when to come to the office has led to less purposeful experiences, as there is less chance for effective collaboration. Anchor days are proving to be a good way to ensure teams are in the office at the same time and also help drive connectivity between teams.

Insurance employees generally want to work remotely 3 or more days per week and flexibility continues to be broader than just whether employees come into the office or work at home. About 40% of insurance employees want to work fully remote.

54% of Insurance employees believe the commute is “worth it” for the in person interactions. For younger people in earlier stages of their career, although they generally prefer flexibility it is also useful for them to have the chance to meet people and create relationships by coming to the office.

Employee wellbeing

Most people have reported an increased wellbeing following the pandemic, but the pandemic impacted wellbeing at work differently across demographics. Gen Z, those who do not identify as male or female and females experienced the greatest decrease in wellbeing. Employers and employees are generally in agreement regarding which areas of well-being are critical for further investment, with mental/psychological wellbeing coming out as the clear top choice of both, followed by financial wellbeing.

Employee turnover

In insurance globally, 50% of gen Z employees and 52% of male employees said they are likely to leave their jobs in the next 12 months. Even at the lower level, 35% of gen x employees said they are likely to leave. There is definitely a push for employees to explore other opportunities so retention is a key risk for employers.

When considering changing jobs, employees in insurance are prioritizing pay and career advancement as 89% of employees are looking to work remotely 2 or more days a week and see flexibility as table stakes. What employers believe is needed to address employee turnover is roughly in line with what employees are looking for.

Future of work and leadership

Insurance employers and employees have divergent views on “Future of Work” globally, particularly around culture, productivity and business travel. 72% of employees believe productivity has improved compared to only 20% of employers. 68% of employees believe culture has improved compared to only 32% of employers. 75% of employees want to do more business travel compared to 33% of employers.

Given these diverging opinions, there is a real need for leaders to change their approaches. The top 5 traits leaders need to embrace and help manage hybrid work are candor, fact based communication, empathy, embracing new digital tools and managing hybrid teams.

Summary:

• Hybrid working is here to stay and insurers need to work out how to successfully operationalise this into new ways or working.
• Flexibility is the most important factor for employees and there is a need to understand what this looks like to attract and retain.
• Understanding and integrating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into flexibility will be a core component in ensuring sustainable ways of working.
• Understanding the lived experience of hybrid model and flexibility a is key get right for the coming months, especially when trying to attract new talent to market

This presentation was delivered during the monthly ICMIF Member-to-Member Discussions for HR Directors. Please contact Mike Ashurst, Vice-President of Reinsurance and Professional Development, to find out more about the HR discussions.