03/06/2006
Visa UK: Brits enlist business skills to manage home life
Brits now spend so much time at work that they are taking a professional approach to their personal lives, according to new research from Visa UK and the Future Foundation which has pinpointed this emerging new trend.
The study, which looks at pleasures and pressures at home and at work, has revealed five new 21st century personality types - the “manic managers”, the “super secretaries”, the “take-it-easy temps”, the “chilled-out CEOs” and the “part-time peacekeepers” - all of which show distinctive traits likely to be picked up in the workplace, proving that we really are bringing our work home with us.
Life coach, Carole-Ann Rice comments:
“The research points to a new trend whereby people are becoming much more professional in their personal lives, as we increase the amount of time we spend in the office.
“This needn’t be a bad thing however and sometimes helps us organise our lives more efficiently – it would certainly be more worrying if the trend was reversed and our social lives were encroaching on our working lives to the same degree!”
With reports suggesting that Britons work the longest hours in Europe, it is no surprise that the lines between our work and personal life are starting to blur. Combine this with the increased number of services available at home from cleaning and childcare to grocery and food delivery the scope to manage our personal lives in a business-like manner is huge.
Of the five personality types revealed, it seems that we fall into two management categories when it comes to running our day-to-day lives - namely those who delegate and outsource, as they are used to doing at work, and those who prefer to rely on themselves to ensure the job gets job done both at work and at home.
The biggest group of outsourcers are the “manic managers”. Frantically busy, and always scrambling to finish projects both at work and at home, this group takes it lead from the big-company mentality and loves to outsource, especially when it comes to meals, keeping their homes clean and getting from A to B. Wales has the largest concentration of Manic Managers across the UK and they are most likely to fall into the 25-34 year old age bracket.
The next group of outsourcers are the “Chilled Out CEOs”; these are laid back workers with a managerial mentality who ensure that life is chilled out by delegating. Found mostly in the West Midlands, this group are more in control of their everyday lives as they delegate most tasks especially domestic chores. They also make more time to relax than any other group and enjoy living life to the full.
Balancing the delegator’s and the doers are the “Take-it-easy temps”; this group lack routine and prefer to muddle along taking life as it comes. They have a flexible approach to both work and home life and they are just as happy doing things for themselves, as they are to delegate. Yorkshire and Humber have the largest number of “take it easy temps” which is also made up of more women than men.
The largest group of people who tend to do things for themselves are the “Super Secretaries”; these people are always on the move but stick closely to their military-style routines. They are dedicated to their work and rarely have time to sit back and relax. Regular exercise and eating home cooked food rather than take-aways are very important to this group who are found mostly in the East of England. More likely to be parents and prioritise relaxation, good food and time with the family.
Finally, taking life easy are the “Part-time Peacekeepers”. Happy-go-lucky and relaxed, the contented nature of these personalities is likely to rub off on those around them. As people who like a quiet life with routine, they are likely to be peacemakers both in their home and work environments. At the same time they don’t feel the need to outsource as they have their life under control and work pressures are minimal.
The research, part of Visa’s commitment to Understanding Everyday study, investigated a number of aspects of everyday life including level of routine, tendency to outsource as well as amount of enjoyment and stress experienced in everyday life.
Greg Twitcher, Vice President, Visa UK commented, “Life today has more stresses both at work and home and our study has shown that people are taking a tip from their work life and outsourcing more and more chores so that they can concentrate on the things that matter to them.”
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About the Understanding Everyday campaign
The Understanding Everyday study is a six-month research project investigating different aspects of everyday life. The release of the study’s initial findings coincided with the launch of Visa’s new UK advertising campaign to encourage its cardholders to make life easier by using their card instead of cash or cheques.
About Visa
In Europe, there are over 276 million Visa debit, credit and commercial cards. In the 2004 calendar year, those cards were used to make purchases and cash withdrawals to the value of almost €963 billion. Visa is one of the world’s leading payment brands with over 1.2 billion cards generating €2.8 trillion ($USD3.4 trillion) in annual card sales volume.Visa has unsurpassed acceptance at approximately 24 million acceptance locations including close to one million ATMs. Visa is a Membership Association that plays a pivotal role in the global payments industry, developing innovative products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 Member financial institutions and their cardholders. For more information, visit www.visaeurope.com.
Personality type breakdowns
Manic Managers …
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Frantically busy
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Always in a rush
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Scramble to finish projects
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Delegate everything
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Rely on others to keep on track
Super secretaries …
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Approach life with military precision
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Take regular exercise and care about diet
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Dedicated to work and rarely relax
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Big fans of routine
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Prefer to keep tasks under own control
Part-time peacekeepers …
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Happy-go-lucky and relaxed
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Quiet, routine life
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Calming influence on those around
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Peacemakers in home and work environments
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All under own control, work pressures minimal
Take-it-easy temps …
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Lack routine
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Take life as it comes
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Flexible approach to work and home life
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Happy doing things for themselves as they are to delegate
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More likely to be single
Chilled out CEOs …
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Managerial mentality
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Life is chilled out by outsourcing
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Laid back workers
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In control of their everyday lives
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Enjoy living life to the full
Regional breakdowns
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Wales has more Manic Managers than any other region
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The East of England has the highest proportion of Super Secretaries than any other region
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There are more Part Time Peacekeepers in the South West than any other region
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Yorkshire has the largest number of Take It Easy Temps than any other region
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There are more Chilled Out CEOs in the West Midlands than any other region.