Survey results: Have flexible working norms changed for actuaries since the pandemic?

Flexible working options have long been considered important by actuarial professionals, but in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic began, home working has become central to the way that actuaries operate on a day-to-day basis. As such, it has never been more important for employers in this sector to ensure that their flexible working arrangements are robust, competitive and aligned with staff expectations.

We wanted to shed further light on how the pandemic has affected the way actuaries think about flexible and hybrid working, so we carried out a survey of over 600 actuarial professionals from the UK and Ireland. Our questions were designed to provide insights into how and where today’s actuaries are working, how recent changes have affected their productivity, and how satisfied they are with the support they receive from their employers.

Our findings offer valuable teachings about the changing conditions within the actuarial workplace, and the steps that employers need to take to ensure they are meeting the needs of actuarial professionals. Take a look at the analysis and full survey results below.

Our findings came from professionals representing a broad cross-section of the actuarial market.

• Only 19% of actuarial employers require staff to come into the office three days or more each week, and only 3% still expect staff to be on site every day.
• Most actuaries (85%) said their company’s working from home policy is fair.
• When asked whether they prefer to work from home or in the office, 54% said a hybrid model was best, while 36% prefer to work from home. Only 9% prefer being in the office.
• 51% of actuaries feel more productive working from home than in the office, with 60% saying that switching to a remote/hybrid working pattern has impacted their productivity in a positive way.
• However, 65% believe hybrid working has had a negative impact on new starters.
• 75% feel that switching to hybrid or home working has positively impacted their work-life balance - but 63% also say they typically work more hours at home than in the office.
• 62% of actuarial employers have responded to the cost of living crisis with a pay increase or another form of support - but 38% have not.
• Only 31% of actuaries are happy with their employer’s response to the rising inflation rates and cost of living, compared to 38% who are unhappy.

Is the hybrid model good for work-life balance?

Although home-based and hybrid working has been shown to offer benefits in terms of productivity, the survey results painted a varied picture in terms of whether this approach is good for people’s work-life balance.

• Since adopting a more remote/hybrid working pattern, 75% said the impact on their work-life balance had been positive, including 56% who said the positive impact had been ‘significant’.
• However, when asked whether they typically work more hours at home than in the office, 63% agreed that they do, including 33% who strongly agreed.
• 43% of all of those polled said they work at least six hours more than they are contracted to do in a typical week. This included 14% who said they work 30 extra hours per week or more.
• When asked about how much of their lunch entitlement they use on a typical day, 45% said they only take 50% or less of their allotted break time when working at home, compared to 38% for those working in the office.
• Similarly, 46% of people said they take 76-100% of their lunch break in the office, but this drops to 40% when working from home.

Download the survey for the full results.

Contact and further information

If you wish to utilise any part of this data for editorial purposes, please credit Sellick Partnership at www.sellickpartnership.co.uk/.

To find out more about our insights into how actuarial employers can improve their recruitment offering and get access to the very best candidates, please take a look at our actuarial recruitment hub, or contact us on 0161 834 1642.