The Working Life - UK - December 2015
“For today’s businesses, a happy and healthy workforce is perhaps their biggest asset. Companies could strive to be more proactive at encouraging healthier lifestyles at work, be it through workplace activities/schemes, healthy nutrition or other health and wellness initiatives.”
Ina Mitskavets, Senior Consumer and Lifestyles Analyst
This report looks at the following areas:
Same-day deliveries to revolutionise retail
Encouraging healthy lifestyles at work
Greater work-life balance as an antidote to rising stress
- OVERVIEW
- What you need to know
- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Putting a premium on leisure time
- Figure 1: Frequency of doing different activities at lunch - Outdoors, September 2015
- Convenience as a USP
- Figure 2: Activities done after work, September 2015
- Figure 3: Services that would make it more convenient to shop during the week, September 2015
- Tackling stress the healthy way
- Figure 4: How people deal with work stress, September 2015
- Instilling better work-life balance
- Figure 5: Workers’ attitudes towards their work routine, September 2015
- What we think
- ISSUES & INSIGHTS
- Same-day deliveries to revolutionise retail
- Encouraging healthy lifestyles at work
- Greater work-life balance as an antidote to rising stress
- THE MARKET
- What you need to know
- Employment continues to rise
- The boom in self-employment
- Workers based at home are in the minority
- Longer commute to work – A feature of urban locations
- Market drivers
- Unemployment rate at its lowest since 2008
- Figure 6: UK unemployment rate for people aged 16+ (seasonally adjusted), Jul-Sep 2008-2015
- Biggest rise in self-employed women
- Figure 7: Employment trends (thousands), by gender, 2010-20
- Labour productivity has finally picked up
- Figure 8: UK Labour productivity measures – Output per hour (seasonally adjusted), Q2 2008-Q2 2015
- Very few mainly work from home
- Figure 9: UK workers, by main place of work, January to March 2014
- Figure 10: Place where people work majority of the time, September 2015
- Lengthy commutes
- Figure 11: Length of commute, September 2015
- Making the most of travelling to work
- Figure 12: Length of commute, September 2015
- THE CONSUMER
- What you need to know
- Most workers bring their own lunch on an average week
- Four in ten skip lunch at least once a week
- Making shopping more convenient
- Money doesn’t buy workplace happiness
- Workers comfort eat their way out of stress
- Promoting healthy lifestyles at work
- The growing need for convenience
- Lunchtime routine
- Catering to the tastes of younger workers
- Figure 13: Lunchtime eating habits, September 2015
- Connecting people at lunch break
- Figure 14: Screenshot from Down to Lunch app, November 2015
- Lunchtime makeover – Brands stepping in
- Time = luxury for modern workers
- Figure 15: Frequency of doing different activities at lunch – Outdoors, September 2015
- Figure 16: Screenshot from Taskrabbit.co.uk, November 2015
- A trend towards lunching ‘al desko’
- Figure 17: Frequency of doing different activities at lunch - Indoors, September 2015
- Activities done after work
- After-work routines dominated by shopping and errands
- Figure 18: Activities done after work, September 2015
- Making dining out more accessible
- Majority of people stop exercising in middle age
- Shopping during the working week
- The way we shop is changing
- Figure 19: Services that would make it more convenient to shop during the week, September 2015
- Innovation in home delivery options
- Figure 20: Screenshot from the Parcelhome website, November 2015
- Same-day delivery disrupts retailing
- More opportunities for face-to-face returns
- Satisfaction with working environment
- The culture of ‘presenteeism’ is widespread
- Figure 21: Overall satisfaction with working environment, September 2015
- Figure 22: Overall satisfaction with working environment, by type of employment, September 2015
- More flexible working options needed for better work-life balance
- Figure 23: Satisfaction with working environment – Specific factors, September 2015
- Britain’s workforce is getting sicker
- Promoting healthy lifestyles at work
- Key driver analysis
- Getting the work environment right is key
- Figure 24: Overall satisfaction with job/working environment - Key driver output, August 2015
- How people deal with work stress
- British workers reach for favourite comfort food when stressed
- Figure 25: How people deal with work stress, September 2015
- Figure 26: Screenshot of Pret a Manger’s ‘SuperBowls’ product range, November 2015
- Younger workers more likely to opt for exercise
- Figure 27: How people deal with work stress, by age, September 2015
- Stepping away from the nine-to-five
- Figure 28: Proportion of workers who have not been stressed at work in the past 12 months, by main place of work, September 2015
- Workers’ attitudes
- No time to re-charge batteries
- Figure 29: Workers’ attitudes towards their health, September 2015
- Finding the right work-life balance
- Figure 30: Workers’ attitudes towards their work routine, September 2015
- Using technology to work smarter
- Buying time
- Figure 31: Workers’ attitudes, by household income, September 2015
- APPENDIX
- Data sources, abbreviations and supporting information
- Data sources
- Abbreviations
- Definitions
- Key driver analysis
- Interpretation of results
- Figure 32: Overall satisfaction with job/working environment - key driver output, August 2015
- Figure 33: Satisfaction with job/working environment, August 2015
- UK Research Methodology
- Sampling and weighting
- Face to Face Surveys
- Definitions
- Brand & Social Media Research
- Trade research
- Desk research
- Statistical Forecasting
- The Mintel fan chart