26th July 2021 – For many businesses, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of workplace wellbeing initiatives. As various sectors have been affected in different ways, it is important for business leaders to understand how the future will look for their businesses and their workforce.

With recent lifted restrictions comes uncertainty amongst both employers and employees within the financial services sector – but how do people feel about their return to work and what the future will look like?

A study by Westfield Health, a health insurance and wellbeing solutions provider, asked 1,500 people across the UK about their future work plans and wellbeing needs. They wanted to understand how the workforce is feeling and what businesses can do to help them adapt. How can businesses move forward to create modern and adaptable environments which enable their people to thrive?

The report explores what to expect from the ‘new normal’, how the return to work might differ across sectors, and the impact of the right support on wellbeing, engagement and productivity.

Financial Services Key Findings:

• 65% of financial services companies are extending or introducing working from home – the highest of any sector.
• 55% of financial services employees feel more engaged by flexible working – the biggest boost of any sector.
• 73% would like more workplace wellbeing support in the coming months
• 59% of employees in the financial services sector are worried about going into work – more than the UK average (51%).

Key Findings:

• 89% of employees are happy with their proposed new way of working
• 51% of people are still nervous about the return to work. Has this potentially increased since the easing of restrictions alongside high numbers of Covid cases?
• 38% of people who have been working from home feel wellbeing support has improved their productivity
• Just over a quarter (26%) of employees say their company currently does not provide support on key wellbeing initiatives
• Only 11% of companies with under 50 employees offer mental health support, while in companies with over 250 employees, this rises to 40%.
• Just 11% of home workers will have no flexible working available to them in the future.
• Just 6% of those working from home felt less engaged due to flexible working arrangements (31% of all employees feel more engaged because of flexible working).
• 24% of home workers say flexible working is the most important thing for their wellbeing at work.

If you were to use the information all I’d ask would be that you credit Westfield Health as the source of the information with a link back to the study.