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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