More than two in five UK Line Managers are now managing teams of more than 10 people; some managing more than 50 people. Overall, one in four Line Managers said their team size had grown since before the Covid-19 pandemic. Line Managers report that their wellbeing could be improved through recognition, direction and employee benefits better tailored to their needs.
6 Apr 2022
New research from Legal & General Group Protection has found that over two in five (43%) UK Line Managers in businesses with more than 250 employees are managing teams in excess of 10 people; with 5% of those managing 50+ people. Overall, one in four (25%) Line Managers said their team size had grown since before the pandemic.1
The Legal & General Wellbeing at Work Barometer1 found that, at the other end of the scale, 34% of Line Managers had teams of up to five people and 22% of team sizes fell with the range of six to 10 people.
When Line Managers were asked what would most improve their wellbeing, in first place came ‘more flexible working options’ (41%), followed by ‘recognition of work well done – informal and/or formal’ (37%) then ‘more flexible employee benefits, suited to my needs’ (35%).
Line Manager respondents also said the top way in which they could be helped to improve the wellbeing support they provided to their teams was ‘recognition from the top that managers are employees and have wellbeing needs too’ (41%) followed by ‘clear direction from the top on company purpose and values and how wellbeing fits in’ (38%).
Meanwhile, team members said the top three ways in which an employer could help with their wellbeing in the workplace were: ‘offer me flexible working arrangements’ (35%); ‘talk more openly as an organisation about mental health and the need for wellbeing for all’ (32%); and ‘lead from the top when it comes to positive wellbeing practices’ (31%).
Legal & General says that insurers and intermediaries are well placed to support Line Manager wellbeing. The provider’s group income protection programme includes, for example:
1 All data points referenced in this press release are taken from Legal & General’s Wellbeing at Work Barometer. The research was conducted by Opinium among 1,000 employees within businesses with over 250 employees, 13 – 27 August 2021.
Vanessa Sallows, Claims & Governance Director, Legal & General Group Protection: “It’s broadly agreed that line managers are the glue that keeps an organisation running. Common-sense dictates that the larger and more fragmented teams become, the harder it is for the Line Manager to monitor and meet everyone’s needs, keep motivating the team, and importantly avoid neglecting their own wellbeing. If this fine balance becomes destabilised, there is a knock-on effect on everyone involved, including across recruitment, retention and productivity.“Group risk intermediaries and insurers are well placed to support Line Manager wellbeing, in turn helping them give their best to their teams. Achieving this requires looking at group income protection differently, getting into all the aspects of support provided and, in particular, where there is multidisciplinary expertise that can help them work through what can be complex issues in terms of workforce wellbeing.
“This starts with management support in the shape of help to carry out stress risk assessments and it extends to direct access to vocational clinical specialists where managers might have specific concerns about an employee. Also, wellbeing training and toolkits, in addition to personalised care pathways will help. As industry body GRiD2 recently said, it would be wise for employers to review their wellbeing provision against GIP embedded services.”
Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with over £1.2 trillion in total assets under management* of which 39% is international. We have a unique and highly synergistic business model, which continues to drive strong returns. Legal & General provides powerful asset origination and management capabilities directly to clients, which also underpin our leading retirement and protection solutions. We are a leading international player in Pension Risk Transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income. Our purpose is to improve the lives of our customers and create value for our shareholders. Through inclusive capitalism, we are investing in long-term assets, such as real estate and infrastructure, that can help build a better society for the future.
*as at HY 2023
Legal & General Retail helps create brighter financial futures for all our customers. The division covers the savings, protection and retirement needs of our c.13 million retail policyholders and workplace members.
In 2022, we had total individual annuity sales of £954 million, and issued £632 million of Lifetime Mortgages and Retirement Interest Only Mortgages. Our Workplace pension platform served 4.9 million members, while our Protection businesses gave peace of mind to more than 6.3 million UK life insurance, 1.8 million group and 1.5 million US customers, taking in £3.1 billion of gross written premiums.
*at 31 Dec 2022