Briefing: Insurance bosses must speak out about office return

By Editor Katie Scott

The end is officially in sight – prime minister Boris Johnson announced this week that the UK’s coronavirus lockdown measures and mitigating actions, such as social distancing, will be scrapped from 19 July 2021, following a final review next week.

Among the rules being lifted is the instruction for employees to work from home if they are able.

The removal of this particular mandate is most likely one that is causing the most trepidation at the moment for employers and staff alike, as businesses now have to navigate considerations around how their employees actually want to work moving forward.

The majority of us office-based staff, for example, have proved that we can work equally well – if not better – at home compared to beavering away in an office environment, so bosses cannot be quick to dismiss flexible working models, even if their personal preference is to return on-site.

According to research by not-for-profit healthcare provider Benenden Health, 62% of SME business owners and directors plan to ask their employees who have been working from home to return to the physical workplace, even if their staff are not comfortable doing so.

The study, which polled 2,005 UK non-furloughed employees and 500 SME business owners and directors in May 2021, also found that 23% of SME leaders would not be consulting their employees on their return to the physical workplace policy.

In comparison, 35% of SMEs said they will not be making any permanent changes to their pre-pandemic working practices, while 13% said they will now pursue a full-time remote working policy.

Furthermore, 18% of SMEs explained they are not currently in a position to introduce any additional Covid safety measures when employees return to the workplace because they are unable to afford the anticipated average cost of more than £4,000.

But what about the insurance sector? Are any UKGI or broking bosses twisting arms to get staff back into the office?

Not according to research published this week by Accenture – the firm’s UK and Ireland insurance lead Jamie Althorp noted that the insurance industry is “at the beginning of these new ways of working, with the research findings signalling loud and clear that the majority of insurance employees favour a more flexible approach going forward”.

Despite insurance being considered a people-centric sector, Accenture’s survey – which polled 1,406 adults working in the financial industry in the UK, including 526 insurance staff – found that 25% of UK employees at insurance firms would prefer to work entirely from home in the future.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of insurance staff said they would like to work two days a week or less in the office, compared to just 6% who favour the return of five days a week in the office. A further 72% of respondents noted that a flexible working schedule would be their preferred initiative moving forward.

More than half (58%) of insurance staff agreed that their workplace and role could not return to a pre-Covid ‘normal’, yet 57% of respondents do not know if flexible working will be offered in their workplace – however 39% know their employer is at least considering introducing a flexible work approach.

The benefits of home working, a flexible working model and hybrid approach – where employees split working days between the office and their home – have become a repeatedly sung hymn over the course of the pandemic lockdowns and I’m sure you are all just as well versed in the positives as I am.

The insurance sector occupies an interesting niche, however. Although Accenture’s research clearly indicates the vast appetite for insurance staff to continue at least some element of home working post-pandemic, the fact that insurance has historically been a face-to-face, people-driven industry will not evaporate overnight – or indeed over 18 months.

The insurance professionals I’ve spoken to across brokers, insurers and other businesses have been very keen to resume the more social aspects of their job roles, with many insurance leaders being the first to re-enter offices.

It will be interesting over the coming months to see whether the sector can strike the right balance between successful networking and in-person collaboration, versus the desire to have time at home to plough through to-do lists. And although Benenden Health’s research indicates a lack of consultation with staff on preparing to return to office working, this step is – in my opinion – a vital one to ensure insurance businesses hit the nail on the head in terms of accommodating staff wishes.

A number of insurance firms have already embraced home working and have extended existing remote working practices. Laura High, director at Yutree Insurance and deputy chair of Biba, explained at the trade body’s annual conference this year that her firm has already re-written its employment contracts to include flexible working practices – she said this is a positive step to come from the pandemic.

If we have learned anything during our time in lockdown, it’s that everyone’s situation is different – just look at the more flexible and broadened definition of a vulnerable customer as an example. Finding a route that suits both employers and employees may be time-consuming, but it is necessary – for insurance as well as other sectors – if staff are to be engaged, productive and healthy.