Perceptions on protection: Surveying workers to build new agile solutions

Over the last decades, the world of work has changed dramatically. While the traditional career model is fading, self-employment and ‘gig’ working is becoming more commonplace and mobility across industries and geographies is increasing. And what does this mean for people?

To help answer this question, Zurich and the Smith School at the University of Oxford designed a large online survey based on a representative sample of the working-age population in 15 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and Latin America - reaching approximately 16,500 individuals.

Our survey looks at different categories, like age, gender and job type. And it sheds light on some important themes like technology anxiety, financial planning, and knowledge and ownership of relevant insurance products.

At the global level, several findings emerged as striking across the board.

• Women and routine manual workers are more vulnerable to the changing world of work.
• Having a comfortable retirement emerges as the top global financial worry.
• Job instability is as likely to be voluntary as involuntary.
• Younger millennials seem financially conservative – but aren't buying protection.
• And finally, attitudes towards technology’s effects on national labor markets don't seem to differ by age.

The survey also highlights the importance of country context. Even those in the same region or with similar social protection systems showed marked differences.

We need local understanding and sensitivity. This is why we have conducted a case-by-case consideration through 15 country profiles, in addition to our global findings.

To learn more about the global and country findings, access the full report here.

To view the global findings only, access the global highlights here.