Six out of 10 workers in Wales plan to make changes to their careers in the next 12 months, according to a new study published today by Aviva. This is a striking increase of 10 percentage points since February 2021, when 53% of Welsh workers were intending to make changes.
However, the proportion of workers in Wales planning modifications is slightly lower than the UK average of 65%.
The intended alterations vary greatly, ranging from reducing hours, to moving roles within an organisation, to choosing a different career path completely.
| Career ambition in next 12 months | Percentage of Welsh workers July 2020 | Percentage of Welsh workers February 2021 | Percentage of Welsh workers October 2021 |
| I plan to retrain / learn new skills | 11% | 5% | 10% |
| I plan to set up my own business / work for myself | 10% | 9% | 7% |
| I plan to find a role which helps others / makes a difference to those in need | 8% | 9% | 6% |
| I plan to increase my working hours (e.g. part time to full time) | 7% | 4% | 12% |
| I plan to follow a completely different career path | 6% | 8% | 2% |
| I plan to retire | 6% | 4% | 8% |
| I plan to gain more academic qualifications | 5% | 11% | 12% |
| I plan to find a role which will allow me to work from home | 5% | 9% | 9% |
| I plan to find a new role but with the same organisation | 3% | 5% | 9% |
| I plan to reduce my working hours (e.g. full time to part time) | 2% | 7% | 8% |
| I plan to find employment after losing my job | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| I plan to move companies but stay in the same industry/role | 1% | 5% | 10% |
Flexibility at work
The study also provides insights into how the last two years have changed working patterns – and how colleagues feel about this situation.
Overall, employees believe the pandemic has had a positive effect regarding flexibility at work. Six out of 10 Welsh workers (62%) say recent events have helped companies to improve their approaches to flexible working.
There are certain aspects of employment that people now class as ‘deal-breakers’ when it comes to flexibility.
| Flexibility benefit at work | Proportion of UK employees who would class as a essential when seeking a role | Proportion of Welsh employees who would class as essential when seeking a role |
| Option to work varying / flexible hours each day across the week | 20% | 17% |
| Ability to work from home some of the time | 18% | 16% |
| Ability to work from home all of the time | 15% | 16% |
| Childcare flexibility | 14% | 16% |
| Option to reduce to part time | 14% | 17% |
| Option to work longer hours over shorter number of days | 11% | 11% |
| Duvet days (leave at short notice) | 10% | 10% |
| Option to buy / sell extra holiday | 9% | 9% |
| Volunteering leave | 8% | 7% |
| Option to job-share | 7% | 7% |
The option to vary daily hours across the week and the ability to reduce hours to part-time are the most common deal-breakers, with nearly one in five workers in Wales (17%) classing these benefit as “essential” when looking for a role. They are closely followed by the ability to work from home some or all of the time, and childcare flexibility – must-haves for 16% of Welsh employees.
Nicki Charles, Retail MD, Customer, Aviva General Insurance says:
“Although flexibility at work was growing in popularity before the pandemic, the Covid-19 outbreak has expedited progress. Benefits that were once seen as luxuries are now being viewed as essentials.
“While the pandemic has been devastating in so many ways, people are seeking out silver linings and a more progressive approach towards working is just one of these outcomes.”
