• More than half of financial services (FS) employees want their organisation to offer alternative working patterns post-COVID-19;
• A third felt their sense of belonging to their team and organisation decreased during the pandemic;
• Around half think ‘globalised talent’ – i.e. hiring people no matter where they are based – will become a reality.

Over half (54%) of financial services employees want their organisation to offer alternative working patterns, such as flexible hours or choosing where to work from, following the pandemic, new research from Deloitte has revealed.

Deloitte’s Talent in FS survey asked more than 2,000 financial services employees for their views on working in the industry throughout the pandemic. It found that around half (52%) want their employer to allow them to work wherever they like in the UK, whilst a quarter (24%) want their employer to enable them to work outside of the UK, post-pandemic.

Purpose and belonging

A third (33%) of employees working in financial services felt that their sense of belonging to their team and organisation decreased during the pandemic, largely due to the lack of face-to-face interactions.

More than a third (34%) of respondents felt that their relationships with colleagues are less deep and meaningful as a result of remote working. Correspondingly, almost half (45%) felt their sense of autonomy had increased during the same time.

The future of work

The research revealed that two in three found their organisation’s culture was more supportive of the new ways of working during the pandemic. Among those working in investment banking, this proportion increased to almost three quarters (74%). 

Looking beyond the UK, almost half (48%) of those working in financial services think that ‘globalised talent’ – i.e. hiring people no matter where they are based – could become a reality, with the majority (76%) not feeling anxious about this. 

Payal Vasudeva, financial services future of work partner at Deloitte, said: “Changes to how people work need to be reinforced by meaningful employee experiences. This could be a sense of belonging, purpose or greater flexibility in the hours they work or where they work from. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach.

“The new world of work is not about presenteeism but empowerment. Employees should be able to make some choices in how and where they work that make them their most productive.”

Stephen Williams, senior partner for Deloitte in Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “Over the past year, office-based sectors, including financial services, have quickly transitioned to a new way of working but the value of in-person interactions will never disappear.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, the opportunity to change how and where we work will enable the industry to widen its talent pool and support economic growth across the whole of the UK.”