New Work Culture Emerges as World Transitions

New Findings Reveal That the 9-5, Five Day Week is Unlikely to Return

LONDON, Sept. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cigna's (NYSE:CI) International Markets business has published new figures from its Cigna COVID-19 Global Impact Study, which highlight that working cultures could permanently change due to the pandemic.

According to Cigna's latest research, carried out in June as part of the Cigna COVID-19 Global Impact Study which is tracking people's health and well-being around the world throughout the pandemic, 18% of people across the world feel that life will never be the same again, an increase of 5% since April. In Korea, Singapore and the United States, this rose to 38%, 26% and 25% respectively. However, Mainland China remained more confident that the status quo would continue, with only 5% saying the same.

The report measures well-being across key indicators, including physical, social, financial, family and work; the health and wellness scorecard; the virtual health assessment tracker; and opinions on what the new normal will look like.

The 9-5, Five Day Week May be Dead

Currently, 60% of people across the surveyed markets are able to work from home, which has had a major impact on people's attitudes to work culture in the future.

Over half of people (53%) now say they would like to work from home at least half the time in the future, this rose to 67% of people in Singapore, and 56% in Spain and Thailand, as well as 40% of people in Korea. Nearly a quarter (22%) went further, saying they wanted to work from an office no more than 20% of the time.

The appetite for full time office based working is now very low. Less than a quarter of people (23%) want to return to the office full time, with the lowest demand seen in Singapore and Thailand (17%), and Mainland China (19%).

Jason Sadler, President, Cigna International Markets said, "The pandemic has dramatically impacted our working and personal lives. While the office still has a role in terms of building culture and collaboration, the experience of the last few months has demonstrated that home based working can also be highly effective. However, this also brings challenges and employers need to think carefully about how they can support their staff who are working remotely, by checking in with them regularly."