Why many insurance companies are avoiding total workplace flexibility

A recent study found that 52% of insurance companies are in favor of a structured hybrid work environment, which mandates a mixture of mandatory in-office and remote work.

Collecting data and responses from more than 4,500 businesses with 30,000 offices employing more than 100 million people worldwide, the Flex Index found that insurance is the is one of the main industries moving away from complete flexibility to a more structured model, with an 18% increase in Q1 2023 from the previous quarter.

“It’s not surprising, especially considering the size of most insurers,” said Rob Sadow (pictured below), CEO of software firm Scoop and the man behind the Flex Index Report, a comprehensive survey about job preferences after the pandemic. .

“There are some aspects of the job that can’t be replicated at home”

“Instead of giving employees the freedom to enter the office if they choose, [insurers] currently commands personal work for the set number of days, the average is 2.53 days,” said Sadow.

The reason for this shift to weekly office days is a result of a couple of key factors.

The first is that a certain amount of learning and teaching is seen to be best accomplished when witnessing top management perform their duties on the spot for new hires, especially when the companies are growing.

“There are certain aspects of the job that can’t be replicated at home,” Sadow said. “Being shoulder to shoulder, there are unscheduled conversations that create opportunities for learning – these things are more organic but still effective.”

Second, as businesses expand their operations through expansions or M&A, a certain amount of cross functional interaction becomes more important as duties become intertwined, and projects become larger.

Finally, Sadow says structured work schedules can help add a little organization to the more chaotic times of expansion.

However, companies with fewer than 500 employees generally see benefits from full flexibility.

“Real estate is very expensive, and startups or small businesses don’t have the capital to sustain an in-office plan like that,” Sadow said.

“Full-time office work is becoming less and less important”

The Flex Index findings may paint a rather bleak picture of the future of full-time self-employment.

In May 2023, only 16% of participants required full time office attendance, an 8% decrease from data collected in February.

“The full-time office job is becoming less and less important,” Sadow said.

Employees are increasingly attracted to more flexible workplaces, especially since lockdowns during the pandemic have shown that duties can be performed at home without sacrificing productivity.

“Having the option to come into the office and collaborate with colleagues and build relationships is also important — it’s about having that balance,” Sadow said.

He also warned that those who implement strict office policies will eventually bleed a portion of their workforce, as behavior changes and an emphasis on a work/life balance becomes new normal.

Leaders are witnessing firsthand the impact of post-COVID policy changes. When Amazon released its back-to-the-office policy, employee groups reportedly encouraged the walkout.

It’s not just full-time office plans that raise employees’ hackles. When Farmers Insurance announced this year that it planned to reverse its remote schedule, moving to a three-day-a-week in-office arrangement, some employees reacted with anger at the internal the company’s social media platform.

“One of the lasting effects of COVID is the idea that life is short,” Sadow said. “People prefer not to spend time in traffic traveling or glued to a desk.”

Tracking flexibility by geography

States located in the western part of America, especially Oregon, Washington and Colorado, are more likely to implement less strict work schedules compared to their southern counterparts such as Arkansas, Alabama and Louisiana, the Flex study found. -an. Idaho, on the other hand, is evenly split between full flexibility and full-time office work.

“Technology companies, which are more forthright in adopting novel working arrangements, are often found in these Bay Area states,” Sadow said.

The data was submitted by a professor at the University of Southern California, who made some geopolitical connections to the findings.

“Areas with stronger flexibility are generally more liberal in political values, while those at the opposite end are generally more conservative,” he said.

Sadow is interested to see how this continues over time, especially among Gen Z individuals, who are more interested in a better work/life balance, heading into the professional world.