Post on 30-Mar-2016
description
What about the workers?
A new study on the Working Class by BritainThinks
Introduction About BritainThinks
Putting the people that matter at the heart of your thinking makes for better decisions, more effective communications and stronger, deeper relationships. BritainThinks offers strategic advice rooted in new insight into the people that matter most to you, whether they are stakeholders, consumers, citizens or colleagues.
Introduction “What about the workers” At BritainThinks we believe it is essential to understand the context in which companies, brands and other organisations operate.
That’s why we do a great deal of our own research to keep abreast of the constantly changing environment. We have a qualitative panel that we are regularly in touch with and we carry out large projects from time to time to look at some of the big questions of the day.
This March, BritainThinks produced “Speaking Middle English” a survey exploring the views and attitudes of the 71% of Britons who self define as Middle Class. This report considers the views of the 24% who consider themselves to be “Working Class”. It draws on the poll findings, alongside a series of specially convened focus groups, to explore what it means to feel Working Class in today’s Britain. Our findings have resonance, not only for the politicians and policy-makers, but also for brands and companies who seek to better understand this critical group in British society.
0%
7%
43%
21%
24%
4%
Upper
Upper middle
Middle
Lower middle
Working
Not sure
7-out-of-10 self identify as Middle Class
71% 33.6
Million adults
0%
7%
43%
21%
24%
4%
Upper
Upper middle
Middle
Lower middle
Working
Not sure
And less than 1-in-4 now define as Working Class
11.4 Million adults
The object that symbolised being Middle Class was…
The equivalent for the Working Class is…
“Because working class people are the ones that do the work – you wouldn’t see a Middle Class person by the side of the road fixing pipes”
Who are the Working Class? Products & Brands Leisure time
44%
22%
Middle Class
Working Class
% who eat at restaurant with table service once a month or more
75%
48%
Middle Class
Working Class
% who have taken a foreign holiday in last 3 years
39%
55%
Middle Class
Working Class
% who say Tesco understands people like me
The ‘good old’ days?
17%
8%
Working Class (Under 30)
Working Class (50+)
% saying ‘I’d rather take on debt than cut back on spending’
“When I left school I got apprenticeships in three different firms, I could take my pick”
More opportunities
Different attitudes
“Immigration meant my
wages went from £250 a day down to £110, to now being £70”
“They had family, they had community. I live in
a block of flats, you have no community
around you. Then it was everyone for all.”
The bad old days? Quality of life
Lack of opportunities (especially for women)
“Women just used to stay at home and look after the kids, and do
the cooking”
Work was harder…. - Longer hours - More physical - More shift work / less
flexible working
And more dangerous… - Risk of death / serious injury
“These days people going abroad on holiday, and not just to local places,
going to Australia, Canada, India, wherever”
In the past, being working class was something to be proud of…
• There was a ‘golden age’ where: • Working class people (particularly men) did ‘real jobs’
• The work was physical and tough, and you ‘earned your keep’
• Everyone wanted to work
• Life back then was hard but…
• Working class people “knew how to have a good time”
• Tight–knit communities
• Respect for your neighbours and your elders
73%
55%
Working Class (55+)
Working Class (Under 30)
% who say ‘Children are wrapped in cotton wool these days’
… but now, there is a clear sense that this is fast disappearing “It doesn’t really matter what class you are in – everyone
round here is just poor, really.”
The working class are almost all living hand-to-mouth
32%
56%
Middle Class
Working Class
% who say ‘It would be a big financial problem for me if I had to replace a large item’
61%
33%
Middle Class
Working Class
% who say ‘I have savings which are equal to or greater than one month of my salary’
32%
13%
Middle Class
Working Class
% who say ‘I have enough savings to feel secure about my future’
6%
14%
Middle Class
Working Class
% who have defaulted on a loan/mortgage in the last 2 years
And those closest to the line have almost no aspirations beyond survival
Q. Thinking about your future which two of these are the most important to you?
72%
54%
20%
27%
18%
9%
63%
53%
33%
20%
19%
12%
That I have enough money to make ends meet
That I have a secure home in the future
That I have a good standard of living when I retire
That I have a better standard of living than I do at the moment
That I am not made redundant / able to find work
That I am able to live somewhere where I feel part of the community
Working Class (£14k or under)
Working Class (£14k+)
The closer to the line people are, the more likely they are to feel nervous and lonely
22%
29%
36%
Middle Class
Working Class (earning £14k+)
Working Class (earning less than
£14k)
% who say they feel nervous about their family’s future
Feeling nervous about family future Feeling lonely
22%
36%
42%
Middle Class
Working Class (earning £14k+)
Working Class (earning less than
£14k)
% who say they often feel lonely
Hopes
“I don’t want my kids to have the same life
as me”
Fears are concentrated around crime and the future for the next generation
“Paedophilia – this guy in the news should be
hanged”
“I am worried that our children and grandchildren
won’t be able to afford to get
married and have children”
But working class people often refer to another, ‘lower’, class …
“She’s not working class, because she
doesn’t work”
“That’s: ‘I’m pregnant, I’m getting a house for nothing. I’ve got four kids and
no old man”
… people who don’t work and, more importantly, “don’t want to work”
“She’s lower class – we pay for these
people”
“I’ve worked most of my life – she’s never done a
days’ work in hers”
“That’s not working class, that’s a yob”
“[they] would know more about the benefits system than all of us put together”
They are anxious to differentiate themselves from “the Chav” …
• “Sponging off the system” • Rude and anti-social • Lacking self-respect
… none more so than those who are themselves out of work or reliant on benefits
“I may be out of work, but I want to work, I’m looking hard for work … and that’s
the difference”
Politics
35%
15%
7%
Labour
Conservative
Lib-Dem
How they say they’d vote % saying they’d be likely to turnout (8-10 out of 10 likelihood)
83%
71%
57%
Middle Class
Working Class (earning £14k+)
Working Class (earning less than
£14k)
“ There should be box for none of the above, so they’ve got an idea
of the number of people out there that didn’t want any of
them”
“The politicians are all millionaires – they don’t live in
the real world”
Politics – two key figures
“We’ve now got this benefit generation which started when
Thatcher closed all of the industries. We’re now buying coal
from Australia”
“I really liked him at first – he seemed different”
“They stopped being the party of the working class”
“It was only because of her that people like me got the chance to
own a house”
Television is a key differentiator between the working class and the middle class
24
Q. Which of the following programmes and types of programmes do you watch at least once a week when they are on television?
Working Class respondents were more likely to watch...
WC MC Dif Middle Class respondent were more likely to watch...
WC MC Dif
X-‐Factor 44% 29% 15% Historical documentaries (e.g. Time team, etc)
27% 38% 11%
Britain’s Got Talent 36% 22% 14% Current affairs documentaries (e.g. Dispatches)
32% 40% 8%
Eastenders 34% 21% 13% BBC News at 6 or ITV News at 6
41% 48% 7%
CoronaQon Street 34% 24% 10% The AnQques Roadshow 20% 25% 5%
Big Brother 15% 7% 8% Strictly Come Dancing 23% 27% 4%
29%
51%
Middle Class
Working Class
% who say ‘I often have conversations with friends about shows like the X Factor or Britain's Got Talent
Wayne Rooney
Jordan
Cheryl Cole
Ashley Cole
Alan Sugar
Dizzee Rascal
Alesha Dixon
Frank Lampard
Kelly Holmes
Twiggy
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
Most Working Class Celebrities
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th Gordon Ramsay
Most Working Class Brands
The Sun
Iceland
McDonald’s
KFC
Asda
The Labour Party
EasyJet
ITV
Alton Towers
Pizza Express
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
Does class matter nowadays?
• There is broad agreement among the working class and middle class that class matters less
BUT… • The Middle classes will meet their aspirations more easily • Being working class used to be a choice
• You wanted to work with your hands, do an honest day’s work, live in local community, be unpretentious, play football
• Now being working class tends to just mean being poor • And life is made harder because the working class is…
• Brought down by the work-shy ‘underclass’ • Challenged by immigrants who undercut wages
• Is education the key? Or is it ‘who you know’ rather than ‘what you know’
What about the workers?
A new study on the Working Classes by BritainThinks
CONTACT DETAILS BritainThinks
This study draws on an online survey of 2003 UK adults. Data were demographically weighted to be representative of the UK adult population. Alongside the survey, BritainThinks conducted ten focus groups to understand the views of each of the different working and middle class segments. For more information about this study, or the the work we do more generally, please do get in touch: BritainThinks Somerset House Strand London WC2R 1LA info@britainthinks.com 020 7845 5880