Wellbeing Flexible Working - A Workplace Report

Working Lives Report from Aviva shows UK employers have some way to go

UK insurance specialist Aviva have just published the 2017 version of their Working Lives report. This paper examines employer and employee attitudes towards issues such as confidence in the workplace, health and wellbeing at work and flexible working.

One of the most worrying statistics from the report shows that 43% of employees believe their employer prioritises business results over their health and wellbeing. This discrepancy between management and workforce is further highlighted when it comes to stress. 42% of employees admitted to often feeling stress or anxious at work. However, the report exposed how employers are underestimating the impact of stress, with 23% of them stating this as a factor, compared with 32% of employees.


The issue of presenteeism (where an employee is physically present in the office, but not working at full efficiency) was also examined, with 69% of employees stating they have previously gone into work when they should have been off sick. Although seemingly a positive for productivity, it can be a false economy, with workers operating at well below their full capability for several days, instead of just taking a single day off to fully recover.


Also a concern is that only 54% of employers say they have a clear understanding of the cost of employee absence on their business.

When it comes to flexible working, 34% of employers do not currently offer any form of it. However, 65% of businesses believe that the workforce will work more flexibly in five years’ time. There is evidence to support this trend, with 37% of employees stating flexible working as a factor for increasing their happiness.


Flexible working is also a consideration for staff retention and recruitment. 64% of employees are more likely to stay with an employer who offers flexible working, with 54% saying they would want any prospective new role to offer this benefit, and 36% citing it would be a deal-breaker.


Included in the survey group were 1,500 private sector employers and 6,000 private sector employees, providing a cross-section of the UK working population.


Bodet's Time & Attendance Systems will help you to calculate the cost of employee absence on your organisation, as well as offer workforce practices such as flexible working with no additional strain on HR administration.


If you would like to see how we can help your organisation with absence management and flexible working, please contact us.