More flexibility in response to new needs
Corona and digitisation have changed the world of work. This also results in new requirements for insurers: Forms of work such as crowdworking or platform work should be possible. And mobile working should be further facilitated. What other political positions on new work does the insurance industry hold?
The insurance industry, with almost 490,000 employees, offers a diverse range of jobs: from actuary to economist, from field service to claims processing, from trainee to board member. In virtually every discipline and position, people with their diverse talents and CVs find their professional home in the insurance sector, with extremely attractive working conditions.
Even more important for employees in times of uncertainty - jobs are secure, despite the pandemic and the Ukraine war. And: The insurance industry has the highest level of collective bargaining coverage of all industries. The collective agreements concluded with the trade unions ensure a good standard of living during working life and in retirement. Overall, the undertakings offer their employees a wide range of development prospects in a changing corporate culture: Mobile and flexible work, a family-friendly environment, flat hierarchies, and agile working methods are becoming common practice among insurers.
Our positions on the new world of work
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New work, new jobs
The transformation of the economy through technological innovation, more diverse work histories, and changing expectations for fulfilling and meaningful work does not stop at any industry. For employees today, work is more than just earning a living. In addition to salary, other factors determine job satisfaction: Progressive digitisation and the use of new technologies are changing operational processes. New forms of work are taking hold. In fintechs, insurtechs and at the platform giants, they are already lived practice. Insurers want to take this challenge as an opportunity. To this end, new and innovative forms of work such as crowdworking or platform work must also be possible at insurers.
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Mobile / flexible work
Even before the Corona pandemic, the insurance industry had created a framework with its collective agreement on mobile work to meet the desire of employees and employers for more flexibility in working life. A forward-looking collective bargaining policy and constructive dialog between the social partners have supported this. But working time legislation must also adapt to the changed working environment: It is a good thing that the federal government has set out to allow experimental areas that can deviate from the rigid maximum daily working hours if collective agreements or company agreements provide for this. What is still missing is the big, bold step toward flexible working hours. The planned clear demarcation of the home office as a form of mobile work from telework and the enabling of cross-border mobile work already point in the right direction. The removal of high hurdles should continue.
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Diversity
Experiences, life histories, age, gender or origin - diversity is part of our society and therefore also part of working life. Diverse perspectives make teams more efficient and innovative. Just as insurers provide protection for people in a wide variety of life situations, they also want to work in teams where diversity is seen as an opportunity. This is about more than gender equity. It's about diversity in a broad sense. For this reason, the establishment of the industry advisory board "Women in Leadership and Culture" more than ten years ago was followed in 2021 by the establishment of a diversity expert group with the aim of driving the topic forward in a holistic manner. German insurers are working successfully to establish diversity in undertakings at all levels. If the German government now wants to promote diversity, it is important that undertakings retain the freedom to position themselves accordingly.
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Skills shortage
Insurers are in constant competition with other industries for the brightest minds and talent. There is a shortage of urgently needed specialists, especially in the areas of sales and IT. Insurers offer a variety of opportunities, from apprenticeships to work-study positions to continuing education, in order to attract qualified workers. In addition, a political course must be set that will lead to a relaxation of the labour market. The measures of the skilled labour strategy of the traffic light coalition can only succeed if employers and politicians pull together: German insurers offer attractive conditions in the various phases of working life - from career entry through family times to retirement. In return, policymakers must create the conditions that allow flexibility in working hours, retirement, or switching from full- to part-time work on an individual basis, without bureaucratic hurdles. Immigration alone will not cure the shortage of skilled workers; concrete, industry-specific concepts and company-specific options must be developed.