Life admin support linked to higher workplace wellbeing and productivity, study reveals

Great Place To Work UK released its “Permission to Thrive: The Strategic Case for Life Admin Support in the Workplace” report with Experian, which found that employees with life admin support reported higher wellbeing, productivity, efficiency and innovation.

57% of UK employees said they received life admin support at work, meaning they could talk openly about personal admin challenges and had flexibility to manage reasonable personal admin during work hours without negative impact. 

In low-trust cultures, only 22% reported receiving support, while this rose to 77% in high-trust cultures. 

Employees in high-trust organisations were 3.5 times more likely to receive support.

82% of employees who received life admin support said they had a good work–life balance, compared to 32% without support. 

Employees with support were almost three times more likely to feel their organisation promoted financial wellbeing and almost three times more likely to feel their mental health was looked after at work.

Support was highest among senior leaders at 78%, compared to 58% of managers and 51% of non-managers. 

Sector differences were also clear, with support most common in desk-based sectors like information technology (74%), advertising, media and marketing (63%) and biopharma (62%). 

Lower levels were reported in frontline-heavy sectors such as healthcare (51%) and manufacturing, production and transport (49%).

69% of senior leaders agreed stress would be reduced if staff could give consent for financial services companies to securely access their employment and income data directly from their employer.

Sara Silvonen, senior consultant and wellbeing lead at Great Place To Work UK, said: “In reality, life admin support is simply one example of organisational approaches and management behaviours belonging to a high-trust, wellbeing-centric workplace culture. 

“These elements reinforce each other in a virtuous cycle.

“Whether life admin is a cause or a symptom of such cultures, the real question is: how do we build and drive this culture?”

Silvonen added: “Speaking about life admin explicitly is a start; encouraging employees to manage it is crucial. 

“And perhaps the most powerful lever is leaders and managers role-modelling this practice themselves – actions speak louder than words, after all.”