Many professionals have reduced their hours to gain a better work-life balance

Since the easing of restrictions, many UK adults have made changes to their everyday lives, with almost two-thirds valuing their free time more now than before the pandemic.

New research by AXA UK looked into how people can make the most out of life as Covid restrictions have continued to ease.

Interestingly, of the 5,000 UK adults surveyed, 48% admitted to making changes to their everyday lives in order to improve the work-life balance they experienced while lockdowns and restrictions were in place.

Twenty-two per cent revealed that they’ve made major changes such as reducing their working hours, moving house and even taking early retirement.

Of those questioned, more than a quarter said they spend up to four hours a week doing inconvenient tasks with 57% saying these chores are getting in the way of what they would really like to be doing.

The top inconvenient tasks are cited as being:

• Sitting in traffic
• Taking Covid-19 tests
• Spending more money on everyday things
• Queuing for petrol and filling up the car
• Finding a parking space
• Having less spare time to do household chores
• Commuting
• Having people visit and having to clean the house
• Having to attend social events
• Managing your finances

Tara Foley, chief executive officer of AXA UK retail insurance, said, “Most people’s lives fundamentally changed over the past 20 months and with tasks such as commuting and meeting face to face put on hold, many used this period to spend more time with loved-ones or to try something new.

“With the return of some pre-COVID normality, our research shows that life’s more mundane tasks are again getting in the way of people making the most out of life and almost half are dreading the return of pre-pandemic constraints. However, it’s good to see a shift in mindset with the majority saying they value their free time more now than before the pandemic and many people are making changes to their lives to ensure the improved work-life balance remains.”

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