In a global survey, employees in the industry shared their attitudes regarding remote work, workplace values, automation, and learning.

For the global insurance workforce, the transition to digital and new ways of working during the pandemic solidified the importance of flexibility, good relationships with coworkers and supervisors, and newer workplace values, such as diversity and inclusion and environmental consciousness. But as the insurance industry modernizes, it’s stoked people’s fears that their jobs could become obsolete.

These are among the findings from a survey of 3,000 respondents working in insurance in 190 countries that The Network and Boston Consulting Group polled as part of the ongoing Decoding Global Talent series.

CHANGING PREFERENCES ABOUT WHERE AND WHEN TO WORK

• During the pandemic, 75% of insurance employees worked outside the office some or all of the time, well above the 51% cross-industry average. If given the option, 69% said that they would prefer to continue with a hybrid model of work that combines onsite and remote work—and a full 94% would prefer to work remotely some or all of the time.
• Fewer people inside and outside the insurance industry are interested in moving abroad for work than in years past. However, a majority (58%) of insurance employees would consider working virtually for a foreign employer, and 64% in digital fields (including IT and technology, automation, data analytics, and digitization) said they would do so.

RELATIONSHIPS REMAIN A VITAL PART OF THE WORK EXPERIENCE

• Maintaining a good relationship with colleagues is more important than any other facet of insurance employees’ jobs – even though the vast majority of industry talent switched to working remotely during the pandemic.
• The perceived value of solid relationships with peers was strong enough to displace maintaining a good work-life balance from its spot in our previous survey as employees’ top priority.

NEW WORKPLACE VALUES GAIN IN IMPORTANCE

• In 2020, for the first time, insurance employees included company values among the ten workplace attributes that they care about most. The vast majority, 71%—and 78% of employees age 30 or younger—said diversity and inclusion have become more important to them over the past year.
• Industry employees feel almost as adamantly about environmental justice issues. Close to 69% overall and 74% of younger employees agree that issues of environmental responsibility gained in importance in the past year.

INSURANCE EMPLOYEES ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE, OPEN TO LEARNING NEW SKILLS

• The pandemic didn’t affect employment levels in insurance as much as it did in other industries: 69% of industry respondents reported that they worked the same amount of time or more. However, the shift to remote work that the pandemic accelerated is part of a larger trend toward digitization and automation that is causing 48% of respondents to worry that their jobs could become redundant.
• It follows that people who feel their jobs are at risk are open to reskilling (learning new skills needed in a different role). In our survey, 71% of employees in insurance said they are willing to reskill. Industry employees spend a few weeks or more on training per year, slightly less time than the cross-industry average, possibly because employers don’t offer training in the formats that employees prefer or don’t provide enough time during the workweek for employees to learn new skills.

Insurers must continue to refine their workforce strategies to gain the full benefits of industry trends and the changes they’ve initiated, while hanging onto valued employees and engaging new talent. If they do, they can put themselves in a better position to become bionic—combining the strengths of people and technology to create superior capabilities.

Share the full report with your clients and help them to understand current trends affecting the insurance industry workforce and what they can do to attract and retain talent.