WFH Scotland: Two in five staff no longer work full-time in the office, despite fears for productivity and wider economy
Two-fifths of Scottish employees no longer work full-time in the office, amid fears it is damaging the economy.
The number of people working flexibly now stands at 40 per cent.
But a third of employers reported they were struggling to get workers into the office as much as they would like, according to research by consultants Flexibility Works.
Research in the US last year found that remote workers’ productivity is reduced by between 10 and 20 per cent compared with those fully office-based.
The trend for flexible working – championed by the Scottish Government – has also had a ‘massive effect’ on businesses reliant on footfall.
Two-third of Scots employees no longer work full-time in the office amid fears for the economy
Pubs, restaurants and small businesses have been hit hard by the sharp downturn in the number of people going to their workplace full-time.
Retail and hospitality were both in the top five of industries – topped by manufacturing – with the lowest levels of flexible working.
Paul Waterson, president of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: ‘The big problem is people not coming into towns for work, and that has a massive effect on businesses, especially at lunchtimes. It makes town centres less attractive than they were.
‘When you ally that with what is going on with LEZs, the dearth of public transport, especially late at night, and car parking charges, it has affected us greatly.’
He added: ‘Governments – local and national – must look at that and have a change of emphasis. Everybody is well aware that high streets have died, and the saviour of those high streets is going to be hospitality.’
Colin Borland, director of the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland, said that people coming into town for work ‘are a big element of weekday footfall for businesses’.
He said those working from home ‘don’t buy the sandwich, or nip out for a bit of lunchtime shopping, or have a quick drink with colleagues before catching the train home’.
Scottish Conservative business spokesman Murdo Fraser said flexible working has its benefits but SNP ministers ‘cannot blithely ignore the impact it is continuing to have on our economy’.
The survey of 262 Scottish business leaders and managers and 1,016 workers, published in a ‘Flex for Life 2024’ report, showed that 83 per cent of high earners work flexibly compared with 57 per cent of those earning less than £20,000 a year.
Women from low-earning households were least likely to work flexibly.
Meanwhile, 77 per cent of those who do not work full-time in the office reported being happier with their work-life balance, and 43 per cent of business leaders and managers agreed that greater flexibility is being held up by opposition from their peers and senior colleagues.
The research found three-quarters of business leaders believed flexibility helped to retain staff and 71 per cent said it had reduced sickness and absence rates.
The Scottish Government’s fair work minister Gillian Martin said: ‘Flexible working is here to stay.’
Catherine McWilliam, head of the Institute of Directors in Scotland, said many ‘key business challenges, such as how to increase productivity or deal with staff shortages, can be addressed, at least in part, through greater flexible working’.
- A previous version of this article said that 67% of Scottish workers are not based in the office full time. In fact, research found this was 40% of workers.
