swiftcover.com's 'Get a Life' survey found that 46% of people say they have a lot less free time than they did three years ago, with almost half of those surveyed (49%) saying that their working day now stretches to between 9 and 11 hours including commuting time.
Consumers are taking steps to reclaim at least some of their free time by harnessing the power of the internet to do their shopping (56%) or manage their insurance and banking (38%). If they gained an extra hour each day the majority of people (28%) said they would spend more time with their family, but tellingly, almost a quarter (24%) said they would have an extra hour in bed.
swiftcover.com's 'Get a Life' survey found:
Where does all the free time go?
- 39% of people are working longer hours because their job is more demanding
- 33% say their daily commute to work is taking longer
- 17% say they spend too much time checking their e-mail
- 13% say hanging on the phone for people or call centres is the biggest waste of time
How does the loss of free time affect you?
- 28% say they are always tired because they have less free time
- 23% get stressed a lot easier than they used to
- 18% say they don't spend enough time with their family
- 17% say they are not fit and feel unhealthy
What would you do with more free time?
- 28% say they would spend more time with their family
- 24% would have an extra hour in bed
- 17% would do more exercise
Tina Shortle, marketing director of swiftcover.com, says: "Our research clearly shows that many people in Britain are suffering as a result of an increasing lack of free time. Growing workloads - which are probably exacerbated by concerns over job security - and the actual journey to work are taking their toll on free time, whilst the tasks such as trying to contact people by phone are seen as the biggest wastes of time.
"It's no wonder that a third of people said that having a servant such as a butler, cook, maid or chauffer would be their most popular dream time-saving solution. "
As the UK's only fully online insurer, swiftcover.com has cut out the call centres, which in turn cuts costs and keeps insurance premiums lower, whilst developing a fast online solution that gives consumers a car insurance quote in less than 60 seconds.
Shortle continues: "People are finding ways of saving time, in particular using the internet to speed up chores such as shopping, doing their banking and getting their insurance online. These small savings in time will add up over a week or a month, so hopefully more people will be able to reclaim at least some of their free time and 'Get a Life'."
The full findings of swiftcover.com's 'Get a Life' research:
1) Do you think you have less free time now than you had three years ago?
| a. I have a bit less free time | 22.0% |
| b. I have a lot less free time | 46.0% |
| c. I have more free time | 20.0% |
| d. It's about the same | 12.0% |
2) What is eating up all your free time?
| a. I'm working longer hours because my job is more demanding | 39.0% |
| b. My personal admin, such as my finances, is taking more time | 13.0% |
| c. I spend lots of time organising my children's spare time and being a taxi for them | 12.0% |
| d. Commuting is taking longer | 33.0% |
| e. I have to work more than one job to make ends meet | 3.0% |
3) What's the biggest waste of time in your day?
| a. Trying to contact people on the phone/hanging on for call centres | 13.0% |
| b. Queuing up in shops and banks | 9.0% |
| c. Commuting to work | 28.0% |
| d. Doing paperwork and admin in my job | 9.0% |
| e. Going through all my e-mail | 17.0% |
| f. Keeping on top of chores like cooking, washing, ironing and house work | 12.0% |
| g. Keeping on top of my personal admin, such as my finances | 5.0% |
| h. Ferrying my kids around to clubs and after school activities | 7.0% |
4) How long is your working day, including commuting time?
| a. Less than 8 hours | 8.0% |
| b. 8 to 9 hours | 24.0% |
| c. 9 to 11 hours | 49.0% |
| d. 11 to 13 hours | 14.0% |
| e. 13 to 15 hours | 4.0% |
| f. 15 to 18 hours | 0.0% |
| g. More than 18 hours a day | 1.0% |
5) What is the downside of having less free time?
| a. I don't spend enough time with my family | 18.0% |
| b. I'm spending less time with friends | 10.0% |
| c. I get stressed a lot easier than I used to | 23.0% |
| d. I always feel tired | 28.0% |
| e. I'm not fit and feel unhealthy | 17.0% |
| f. There's no downside! | 4.0% |
6) What things do you do to try and save time?
(respondents could choose more than one answer)
| a. Do my finances online, such as insurance and banking | 38.0% |
| b. Do my shopping online | 56.0% |
| c. Work from home when possible | 6.0% |
| d. Try to be more organised at work | 12.0% |
| e. Use a Blackberry or PDA to check my e-mail on the move | 7.0% |
| f. I have a cleaner/ironing service | 4.0% |
| g. Go out to eat or have takeaways | 14.0% |
| h. Organise a lift club for my kids with other parents | 6.0% |
7) What would be your dream solution for helping you save time?
| a. Servants - like a butler, cook, maid or chauffer | 33.0% |
| b. A nanny or au pair for my children | 13.0% |
| c. My own personal assistant at work | 3.0% |
| d. A social secretary for my private life | 1.0% |
| e. Working from home | 8.0% |
| f. Work a four day week (but get paid for five!) | 34.0% |
| g. Being able to survive without sleep | 5.0% |
| h. A helicopter for commuting | 3.0% |
8) What would you do with an extra hour's free time everyday?
| a. Spend more time with my family | 28.0% |
| b. See my friends more often | 12.0% |
| c. Have an extra hour in bed | 24.0% |
| d. Do more exercise | 17.0% |
| e. Study to learn a new skill | 4.0% |
| f. Go to the pub | 6.0% |
| g. Spend the extra hour at work | 9.0% |
ENDS
For press enquiries please contact:
Joshua Van Raalte or Paul Beadle
Brazil (PR agency for swiftcover.com)
01865 556 000
swiftcover@agencybrazil.com
About swiftcover.com:
Based in Send, near Guildford and employing over 250 people, www.swiftcover.com was born out of a desire to revolutionise the general insurance market. swiftcover.com started trading in June 2005, jointly owned by the founding management team and international insurer Primary Group.
swiftcover.com offers car, travel and pet insurance online, and is Britain's only insurance company without call centres, which means that the cost savings can be passed directly onto the customer and premiums are kept low. As a result, swiftcover.com was voted cheapest car insurance, on average, by moneysupermarket.com in 2007.
This powerful operating model combined with successful marketing and competitive pricing has proven to be a tremendous success. This year swiftcover.com has over half a million live policies and is considered to be the fastest growing insurer in the UK.
In 2007, AXA UK acquired swiftcover.com. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Insurance UK PLC which forms part of AXA Group.
About AXA:
AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. AXA is a world leader in financial protection. AXA's operations are diverse with major operations in Western Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. AXA employs 120,000 staff and tied agents and, as of June 30 2006, had €1,091 billion in assets under management. AXA reported total IFRS revenues of €72 billion and IFRS underlying earnings of €3,258 million for the full year 2005. Our previous company performance is not a guide to how we may perform in the future.