Managing Insecurity: The Role of Good Management

In 2022, Work Foundation Research showed that there are nearly 6.2m people in insecure jobs.

Those in insecure work may experience poor financial wellbeing, poor mental health, and more limited job opportunities in the future. Job insecurity can also be costly for employers and the overall economy, as it can reduce people’s motivation at work, lower their productivity, and lead to higher staff turnover rates.

The UK labour market in 2023 faces a range of deep and intertwined challenges (long-term illness, staff shortages and retention issues, impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on productivity, insecure jobs characterised by low pay and unpredictable hours, and so on). This research highlights the critical role that good management practice plays in people’s experience of insecure work and provides a number of practical ways in which specific management choices and behaviours can mitigate some of the negative impacts of insecure employment.

Findings of this report suggest that the working lives of insecure workers can be significantly improved if more attention is focused on improving the management support on offer within organisations to prioritise predictable hours, greater autonomy at work, general wellbeing, and development and progression.

Key findings

1. Overcoming financial and contractual challenges: Approximately one in three workers in insecure work (30%) expect to lose their jobs in the next 12 months. And almost half of workers in insecure jobs (49%) cannot personally pay an unexpected bill of £300 if it was due within the next seven days. Many insecure workers interviewed spoke about the stress they experience from worrying about the financial consequences of losing their job. Most managers interviewed were aware and sympathetic to the financial and contractual challenges faced by the insecure workers they manage, but many felt they lacked the resources, power, and support to help. In this difficult context, many were developing their own ways to support staff such as having an open and honest approach, adopting a personalised managerial style, or ensuring parity, where possible, in their treatment of temporary and permanent staff.
2. Supporting more autonomy and predictable working patterns: Several workers said that they felt they had limited control over their working hours. Some also felt unable to take sick days or refuse their manager’s requests to work additional or unsocial hours for fear that they could lose out on future work. Nearly half (46%) of managers reported that they are often not in a position to resolve issues with working hours, stating that their team’s hours are set by others. Employers giving line managers more power to set their team’s hours could improve employee well-being and address some of the day-to-day concerns of those in insecure work.
3. Supporting flexible working that works for employers and employees: 34% of workers reported having at least one of their shifts cancelled with less than two days’ notice in the past month. Worryingly, 51% of workers say their mental wellbeing is affected by sudden changes to their work, schedule or weekly hours. Managers can play a significant role in providing colleagues with the right balance of stability, predictable hours and flexibility and, importantly, stated that they are keen to do so. Around three quarters of managers surveyed said they would be willing to provide more flexible working arrangements to a direct report who requested them due to caring responsibilities (74%), personal wellbeing (73%), or for disability or health reasons (77%).
4. Managers in insecure work settings need support too: The research found that insecure workers who feel they are treated well at work are 7.5 times more likely to be satisfied with their job. Many of the workers interviewed talked of the transformative effect of supportive management on their personal and professional lives. However, managers in insecure work also face the same challenges as their colleagues, and often feel they lack the power to make the kinds of changes needed to support the workers they manage. Managers too expressed a desire for more predictable work hours and almost one in ten expected to lose their job in the next 12 months. Managers stated they face mental pressures in attempting to support members of their team who were experiencing significant difficulties due to the precarious nature of their contracts.

Recommendations

To tackle job insecurity and its negative impact on workers and managers:

• The UK Government should bring forward new employment laws and regulations to strengthen labour rights and contractual security for all workers.
• The UK Government should set-up a ‘Good Work Taskforce’ to identify international best practice examples of mitigating the impacts of insecure work on individuals, employers, and sectors.

To support the improvement of management practice:

• The Department for Business and Trade should mandate a wider array of metrics for large employers to conduct and report on such as the equality impact assessments (EIAs) which allows the public to see the composition of their workforce in terms of types of contracts, and assess which groups are more affected by this.
• The department for Business and Trade should support the development of management capability in providing secure and predictable working arrangements, including a focus on SMEs who may lack in-house resources and capabilities to undertake this work.
• The UK Government should build on programmes of support for managers such as traineeship scheme and Help to Grow ensure inclusive practice is emphasised within existing training for supervisors and managers.

Local authorities can play a vital role in tackling job insecurity:

• The UK government should build management capability into local and regional skills programmes for sectors where insecure work is prevalent.
• The UK Government, mayoral combined authorities and local authorities should review their investment strategies for opportunities to further incentivise existing and future employers to improve labour standards in sectors where insecure work is prevalent.