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How actuarial firms can adapt to flexible working in 2025
6 January 2025 6 mins
Whether fully remote or a hybrid model, flexible working has become more prevalent in 2024, resulting in the need for adaptability from employers and employees in the actuarial industry.
While there are differing opinions regarding flexible working, many argue that the benefits outweigh the challenges. As a result of this preference, Sellick Partnership wanted to understand how actuarial firms can accommodate flexible working without impacting productivity.
To gain insight, we conducted a survey where we spoke to over 600 actuaries. We wanted our study and its results to reflect the diverse actuarial industry. Our cohort consisted of professionals with varying degrees of experience, ranging from a year of experience to 30.
Most of our respondents were qualified actuaries or actuarial students, 44% and 35%, respectively. Over 100 job titles are represented:
36% of participants work in general insurance.
27% in pensions.
22% in life insurance.
6% in investments.
6% in the Lloyd’s market.
Supported by our survey findings, our guide will explore the advantages and disadvantages of flexible working and how actuarial businesses can adapt to this way of working.
Benefits of flexible working
We must consider how flexible working can be advantageous to both employers and employees in the actuarial industry. Here’s an overview:
How do actuarial firms benefit?
Our survey found that only 19% of actuarial employers need employees to be office-based three days or per week, while only 3% expect their staff to be on-site throughout the entire working week. These figures indicate that employers recognise the positives of offering flexible working.
Providing flexible working could lead to the following:
Improved recruitment and retention: Demand for flexible working is rising, with 8.7 million full-time workers stating they want to work flexibly. Many employers have reacted to this; 42% said offering flexible working improved recruitment.
Broader talent pool: Flexibility enables firms to recruit from a wider geographical area, including professionals who prefer remote roles or those balancing family commitments.
Increased productivity: More than half of our respondents reported feeling more productive when working from home, with 60% saying that flexible working has positively impacted their productivity. The switch enhanced 29% of participants’ technical skills, and 33% noticed improved soft skills.
Stronger employee engagement: A flexible work environment demonstrates trust and respect for employees' autonomy, boosting morale and fostering loyalty.
What are the benefits for employees?
As per our survey, employees were overwhelmingly positive about flexible working. When asked if they prefer to work from home or in the office, 54% favoured a hybrid model, 36% preferred to be fully remote, and just 9% opted to be in an office. What are the reasons for its popularity?
Work-life balance: A key driving factor for flexible working is work-life balance. Illustrating this, 75% of those surveyed said the impact flexible working had has been positive, with 56% citing a ‘significant’ improvement.
Reduced stress: Employees with flexible working arrangements had 26% lower odds of suffering from psychological distress and anxiety on a daily, weekly and yearly basis.
Autonomy and job satisfaction: Flexible working offers employees greater control over their schedules and empowers them. This builds trust and improves job satisfaction.
How are employers responding to the rise of flexible working?
Actuarial firms appreciate that through flexible working, their productivity and staff morale will increase. The conventional nine-to-five in the office for five days a week is on the decline. Our survey’s figures evidence this:
We found that 37% of actuarial employers stipulate that employees must be in the office at least twice a week, while 12% stated that they only need to be on-site once a week.
Demonstrating that flexible working is becoming the norm in the actuarial industry, 59% of participants said that policies apply to collective teams and departments.
Conversely, 19% stated their employer didn’t implement a company-wide policy, meaning they could work flexibly on an ad hoc basis.
A significant 85% of respondents believe that their employer’s flexible working models are fair.
Challenges of flexible working
While it’s clear that there are many benefits to flexible working - for both employers and employees in the actuarial industry - it’s important to discuss the negative aspects, too. There are many pitfalls to flexible working that actuarial firms must consider, including:
Collaboration: Actuarial jobs typically require collaboration and flexible arrangements pose difficulties with real-time resolutions. This impedes responsive problem-solving and project efficiency - 86% of employees attribute ineffective collaboration as the main cause of workplace failures.
Clear communication channels: Maintaining constant communication across departments can be difficult when not in the office. Poor communication can lead to misinterpretation or delays in critical information.
Data security: Actuarial Consultants handle sensitive client and financial data. Security measures in remote settings may not be as robust compared to an office environment, increasing the risk of data breaches. This is a shared concern among business leaders, with 23% believing hybrid working is their greatest threat to a data breach.
Distractions: In a hybrid setting, 66% of those we surveyed said there’s at least one other person with them while they work. This could hinder productivity and development - 28% claimed hybrid working stunted soft skill development.
New starters: Actuarial graduates may not be suited for hybrid working models, with 65% of firms of the opinion that they would need extra support to integrate them into a remote team.
- Burnout: Although work-life balance improved for 75% of Actuarial Consultants operating from a hybrid or remote model, 63% reported working longer hours from home. This could lead to fatigue and lower morale, and employees may leave their positions.
Culture: Flexible working can hamper communication, but can it also impact culture? A key argument for office-based working is creating - or preserving - a positive culture. Some tools aid communication and culture, but 40% of remote workers said a virtual setup made it difficult to connect with colleagues, and 31% couldn’t build a rapport with their manager or senior colleagues.
Overcoming these challenges
From establishing communication channels for cohesive teamwork to managing productivity, actuarial firms that implement flexible working face many problems. However, there is a range of approaches and tools that can be used to mitigate issues associated with remote working. For example:
Set expectations: Communication protocols like daily check-ins allow for regular updates. Tools such as Microsoft Teams make facilitating this much simpler for actuarial firms.
Maintaining productivity: Our survey found that productivity generally improves among Actuarial Consultants working from home. However, according to a Stanford report, managers believe productivity decreases by 3.5%. This perception could be tackled by introducing KPIs to measure employees’ output.
Security and data privacy: As mentioned, handling sensitive information is a key component of actuarial jobs, and working from means data is vulnerable to breaches. This risk can be thwarted by introducing VPNs and enforcing multifactor authentication where necessary.
Final say: how actuarial firms can adapt to flexible working in 2025
As we approach 2025, flexible working, be it fully or a hybrid model, has cemented itself as a prominent feature of the actuarial industry. Flexible working impacts Actuarial professionals and their respective firms alike. That’s why our comprehensive survey covers the thoughts and opinions of both employers and employees.
Actuarial recruitment could be difficult for firms that do not offer a flexible working model. By adopting a flexible working model, they will see happier and more productive staff, with improved retention and recruitment. Employees value a healthy work-life balance, a key benefit of flexible working. They experience reduced stress, and morale is generally higher.
However, this transition isn’t free from challenges. Collaboration and communication can be obstructed, which can be detrimental to projects. The risk of data breaches is heightened when working from home without proper measures implemented, and actuarial graduates can struggle to get adequate support when they’re not in the office.
There are solutions available, but ultimately, embracing flexible working is imperative for actuarial firms to continue to grow. As our survey suggests, by not doing so, your business will be in the minority.
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