1. Home
  2. Resources & Initiatives
  3. Publications & Reports
  4. trend of flaking

The trend of 'Flaking'

IPA Insight Pulse Poll

An IPA Insight Pulse Poll of 2,000 people aged 18+, commissioned by the IPA and conducted by Opinium, revealing the UK's habits of cancelling plans at the last minute.

Key findings:

  • Two-thirds of 18-34s admit to flaking on plans vs less than a third of over 55s.
  • While over half of adults admit to flaking, over two-thirds say they’ve been flaked on.
  • A third of adults lie about why they are bailing on a commitment at the last minute.
  • Almost 9/10 people feel guilty for cancelling plans.
  • Over two-thirds of people agree technology has made it easier to cancel plans at the last minute.

The nationally representative poll was commissioned by the IPA among a sample of 2,000 UK adults in employment and was undertaken by Opinium in January and February 2025. The full data is available on request by contacting insight@ipa.co.uk.

Published March 2025