Most Yorkshire workers are planning a career change over the coming year - new report

The insurance giant said this is a striking increase of 18 percentage points since February 2021, when 52 per cent of Yorkshire workers were intending to make changes.

The proportion of workers in Yorkshire planning work alterations is higher than the national average of 65 per cent. It is second only to London, where 76 per cent of workers expect to make changes to their careers in the next 12 months.

The intended changes vary greatly, ranging from reducing hours, to moving roles within an organisation, to choosing a different career path completely.

Looking at career ambitions over the next 12 months, 16 per cent of Yorkshire workers said they plan to follow a completely different career path and 15 per cent said they plan to find a role which will allow them to work from home.

More than one in 10 (11 per cent) of Yorkshire employees said they plan to reduce their working hours (e.g. full time to part time).

A further 11 per cent said they plan to retrain/ learn new skills and another 11 per cent said they plan to gain more academic qualifications.

Just under one in 10 (9 per cent) said they plan to set up their own business or work for themselves whilst 8 per cent said they plan to move companies, but stay in the same industry/role.

The study also provided 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. Nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of Yorkshire workers said 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. The most common is the option to work varying/ flexible hours each day across the week, followed by the ability to work from home some or all of the time.

Childcare flexibility was also important as was the option to work longer hours over a shorter number of days.

Nicki Charles, retail managing director for customers at Aviva General Insurance, said: “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.”