Younger employees feel financial pressure of working in the Channel Islands

In revealing insights for both employers and policymakers, the results show how financial pressures are affecting local workers, their behaviour and their plans for the future.

The research also looks at employee readiness for a fast-changing economy, and skills demands for the future of work.

The findings highlight a sharp divide among the Channel Islands working population, in which half are living well, while the other half are only just managing to make ends meet. The research indicates that the perceived gap between employees in financial and non-financial industries isn’t as wide as expected, and that younger workers are feeling the impact most.

When looking at employee capabilities and skills development, the findings are mixed. The research reveals that Channel Islands workers are actively seeking opportunities to learn and develop new skills, but they are less clear than global workers on the skills they will need to do their jobs in the future. They are also less confident in their local employers, that the support, tools and resources will be provided to make them future-proof.

Significant findings

Financial pressures:

• Employees across all sectors are feeling the pressure on their finances. 41% of workers in both financial and non-financial industries say they are able to pay their monthly bills, but have very little/nothing left over for savings, holidays and extras. While 8% say they are struggling financially.
• Younger generations are feeling the pinch, with 50% of Gen Z and Millennials just managing to pay their monthly outgoings (45%) and a small number who say they struggle to pay their bills most of the time (5%) .
• Female workers are struggling with finances more than their male counterparts, with 10% more women (44%) than men (34%) reporting that they can’t afford additional expenses after monthly bills.
• Despite the financial pressures, only 26% of local workers plan to ask for a pay rise in the next 12 months, compared to 42% of employees globally and 47% of employees in Luxembourg.

Future Skills:

• Only 51% of Channel Islands workers are clear on how the skills their job requires will change in the next 5 years, compared to 66% of global workers and 76% of Luxembourg workers.
• On a positive note, over three quarters of Islanders appear committed to self development, with 76% saying they actively seek opportunities to learn new skills compared to only 50% of global workers.
• But CI employees lack confidence that their employers will provide them with the right tools, resources and opportunities to build future skills. For example when it comes to digital skills, only 35% of local workers were confident their employers would provide the support versus 58% of global employees.

Commenting on the findings and their implications for local businesses and economies, Leyla Yildirim (pictured), Chief Strategy Officer, PwC Channel Islands, said: “Our findings suggest that financial concerns are impacting the Channel Islands workforce, with younger generations feeling the brunt. There is a growing risk that young talent will find it increasingly difficult to continue to afford to live locally, which has the potential to stunt economic growth.

“Meanwhile, Channel Islands employees see themselves as problem solvers who will step up to take on more responsibilities when needed. Local workers will go the extra mile and stay loyal to their current employer, compared to global counterparts, which is a huge positive for local organisations.”

Commenting on the impact of financial pressures, Sarah Hollingsworth, Workforce Lead at PwC Channel Islands, said: “With women and younger people feeling the strain from high housing and living costs, it’s important for employers to understand how employees are affected by these pressures and what more they can do to relieve the burden. To attract and retain the talent they need to succeed, they should be regularly benchmarking pay and benefits against counterparts
globally not just locally, and across generations and genders.”

Commenting on skills development, Sarah added that: “Many Channel Islands workers are not getting the support from employers they need to develop skills for the future. This is a wakeup call for employers to invest more in upskilling their staff. Our survey indicates that Channel Islands workers are dedicated, willing to go the extra mile and plan to stay with their employers for the medium-term, but employers need to step-up upskilling for a digital future or their workers and businesses risk becoming obsolete.”

Commenting on the results of the survey and implications for the international competitiveness of local businesses and economies, Leyla added: “Our findings suggest that local workers see very clear alignment between their own purpose and values and that of their employers. This is a huge positive in terms of building a successful culture where people can thrive. But where local employers appear to be falling short, is skills development. It is clear that workers in the rest of the world feel they are getting more support to develop their skills, than Channel Islands workers are. With artificial intelligence (AI) now beginning to impact many industries, tasks and jobs, the need to focus on developing future-proof skills is even more urgent.”