Key findings
On average, scores in 2021 lost about half the gains made last year.
On average, scores in 2021 reversed most of the improvements seen in 2020 relating to responsiveness, leadership and personal resilience, but scores on ethical behaviour held close to 2020 levels.
New ways of working expedited by the pandemic brought flexibility and improved work-life balance on the one hand, but communication and decision-making challenges on the other; and mental wellbeing concerns associated with reduced socialising.
94% feel accepted by colleagues at work, but 14% were worried about judgements being made about their ability based on stereotypes related to their identity or background, and 5% feel excluded by unfair treatment, cliques and other factors.
The detail
- On average, scores in 2021 lost about half of the gains made in 2020. The largest declines – reversing all or most of the previous year’s improvements – related to responsiveness, leadership, and personal resilience. On questions relating to ethical behaviour, by contrast, scores held close to 2020 levels.
- Employees reported several positive effects from new ways of working during the pandemic. These included more flexibility, improved work-life balance, quicker decision-making and greater productivity. Negative consequences, however, included: difficulties in supporting customers, communication / decision-making issues, blurred work-life boundaries, and mental wellbeing concerns and reduced social contact.
- 94% of employees said that they felt accepted by their colleagues at work. 14% were worried that people at work draw conclusions about their ability based on stereotypes about their identity or background. 5% of respondents felt excluded and said this was because of, among other factors, unfair / prejudicial treatment, the existence of cliques, work arrangements, the way teams communicate and make decisions, and the actions of leaders.
- In 2021 we gathered data for the first time on religion and sexual orientation as well as a range of other demographic characteristics. Controlling for other factors we found differences in responses relating to disability and ethnicity. Employees with a disability responded to our core Survey questions much more negatively than those without, and especially on questions related to personal resilience. Minority ethnic groups (and particularly Asian/ Asian British and Black/Black British employees) responded more negatively on average than did White British employees, with the largest differences on questions related to unethical and inappropriate behaviour.
- With only a few exceptions, there was however no major differences in scores on the core Survey questions according to respondents’ stated religion or lack of religion; whether they were gay or lesbian or heterosexual; and whether their parents came from professional, intermediate or lower socio-economic backgrounds.
- New joiners at a firm (those with a tenure of less than a year) have always responded more positively across our core Survey questions than those who have been at the firm longer. We know from other surveys that this is true for other work environments as well, not just banking. In 2021, however, new joiners appeared materially more positive than those who had been in their careers for longer – more so than in previous years. Our regression analysis indicates that this had a greater explanatory effect in several questions than any other demographic collected.
Dame Susan Rice, Chairman of the FSCB, said:
‘Managing organisational culture remains crucial as firms adopt and adapt to new ways of working for the longer term. Leadership is key and will be harder, as firms balance the needs of the organisation and its people. Leaders need to think more carefully than ever about their behaviour which will act as a signal for managers and employees, whatever the working model of the firm. Listening and flexibility will be crucial to ensure that employees at all levels and from all backgrounds are actively involved in building and living the culture and values of their firm.’
Alison Cottrell, Chief Executive of the FSCB, said:
‘As we all continue to adapt to a changing environment and new ways of working, firms can learn from each other’s experience as well as their own to help identify and address the implications for organisational culture. The FSCB’s six years of data on culture in the banking sector highlights both areas of progress and ongoing challenges. Understanding the former and addressing the latter requires a focus on evidence and outcomes; an approach facilitated by a readiness to work collectively as well as individually on promoting trustworthy cultures, to the benefit of customers and clients across the financial services sector.’
Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive of the FCA, said:
‘New ways of working in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis pose unique challenges and opportunities in terms of corporate culture and staff wellbeing. It is reassuring that the scores on ethical behaviour have remained stable and that, despite the various pressures of the past year, there is still a positive view of leadership.
There is also a clear distinction in the scores between people who feel accepted versus people who feel meaningfully included. The low scores for disabled people across the board may indicate that they, in particular, are not being fully included. Inclusion, including psychological safety, is a vital feature of a healthy culture. The scores also bear out that Black and Asian people feel they are less likely to progress professionally than White colleagues. Diversity and inclusion are key priorities in the FCA’s business plan and we expect them to become a central part of firms’ thinking.’
Background
The 2021 FSCB Survey reverted to May, after taking place in September 2020 due to Covid-19.
In this, our sixth annual assessment exercise, we received over 45,000 responses from employees across 24 banks and building societies in the UK.[1]
How scores have changed in 2021
- On average across all firms, scores tended to improve between 2016 and 2017; trend sideways in 2018 and 2019; and improve again in 2020, before declining in this latest year 2021. This picture remains the same after adjusting for changes in the composition of firms involved in the Survey during that period.
- Scores across our core Survey questions had improved on average by 3 points in 2020; around half of these gains on average were reversed in 2021. The largest declines were on questions related to responsiveness, leadership, and personal resilience:
- 72% of employees said senior leaders in their organisations mean what they say, lower than the 77% who said this in the previous year (2020);
- 68% of respondents in 2021 said their firm responded effectively to staff feedback compared to 73% in 2020; and,
- 24% said that working in their organisation had a negative impact on their health and wellbeing compared to 20% in 2020.
- Despite the declines in 2021, scores across most questions remained relatively higher than in 2019, including in the three areas mentioned above. While people’s experiences and different way of working through the initial period of the pandemic may have been partly responsible for some of the increases in scores observed in 2020, on some questions scores held at or close to their 2020 levels; this was particularly the case on questions related to ethical behaviour:
- 10% of employees in both 2021 and 2020 said they saw instances in their organisation of unethical behaviour being rewarded, compared with 13% in 2019; and,
- 14% of respondents said that they saw people in their organisation turn a blind eye to inappropriate behaviour in 2021, compared with 15% in 2020 and 19% in 2019.
New ways of working
- One of the main themes we explored in this year’s Survey was perceptions of new ways of working in response to the pandemic. At the time of the Survey, 71% of employees said that they were working primarily from home while 21% reported working mainly on-site at a work location such as an office or branch, compared with 71% and 25% respectively in September 2020.
- When asked which changes in ways of working in response to the pandemic, if any, had a positive effect and should be continued or developed further, the most frequently mentioned changes were: working from home (46%), flexibility (35%) and improved work-life balance (18%). 10% also mentioned quicker decisions and greater productivity, and 8% said this way of working had allowed them to help customers better.
- In contrast, when asked what changes, if any, had negative consequences and should be reversed or amended, respondents most commonly said that there were no negative consequences (29%). This was followed by difficulties in supporting customers (14%), concerns about returning to the office (13%), and communication / decision-making issues (13%). 10% talked about blurred work-life boundaries, 10% pointed to excessive pressure and 9% mentioned diminished socialising and mental wellbeing concerns.
Inclusion and exclusion
- We continued to explore the theme of inclusion in our 2021 Survey with additional questions. 94% of employees said that they felt accepted by their colleagues at work (the same proportion as in 2020). However, only 59% felt included in informal networks that might matter for their career and 14% said they worried that people at work might make conclusions about their ability based on stereotypes about their identity or background. This latter proportion was highest among Black/Black British respondents with 45% of respondents saying they were worried about being stereotyped, followed by 29% for Muslim respondents and 28% for Asian/Asian British employees.
- We asked the 5% of respondents who said that they felt excluded by their colleagues at work what the primary cause for this was. Categorising their free text responses, we found the main reasons for feeling excluded in participating banks and building societies to be, among other factors: unfair / prejudicial treatment, the existence of cliques, work arrangements, the way teams communicate and make decisions, and the actions of leaders.
The experience of different employee groups
For some demographic groups we continued observing the same patterns in 2021 that we observed in previous years:
- Women tended on average to answer most Survey questions more positively than men
- White British individuals responded more positively on average than other ethnicities, and particularly relative to Asian/Asian British and Black/Black British respondents. The largest differences were on questions related to unethical and inappropriate behaviour; for example:
- 24% of Asian/Asian British respondents and 21% of Black/Black British respondents said it was difficult to make career progressions without flexing their ethical standards compared to 11% of White British employees; and
- 19% of Black/Black British respondents and 17% of Asian/Asian British respondents said they saw people in their organisations turn a blind eye to inappropriate behaviour compared to 12% of White British employees
- Employees with a disability answered our 36 core Survey questions substantially more negatively than those without, and particularly so on questions related to personal resilience:
- 56% of those with a disability said they felt under excessive pressure at work, compared to 38% of those without a disability
Ongoing work
We are continuing to analyse the 2021 results alongside the last six years’ of survey data and will post updates on our website. We are also working in collaboration with a number of organisations to explore the theme of inclusion in financial services. This includes partnering with the Financial Services Skills Commission to gather additional data, and working with Dr Aneeta Rattan and Dr Raina Brands of London Business School and UCL School of Management, who helped develop our additional questions on inclusion for this year’s Survey, on intersectional differences in the way that employees respond. We will be running another Change Ambassadors training programme with Dr Daniel Beunza of Bayes Business School in Spring 2022, enabling employees in financial services to learn ethnographic techniques that they can use and adapt to promote inclusion within their firms; and we are working with the Bank of England to analyse the relationship between our survey results and actual outcomes (on which, more to follow over the coming months).
See the 2021 FSCB Employee Results; along with the full breakdown of the key findings and results.