One in five Scots workers told to return to office full time, survey finds

The research, carried out for the social business Flexibility Works, also found almost half (45%) of all office workers said that by following their employers’ instructions on where they should work, they were doing jobs in the office that could be better done from home.

Speaking as the results were published, Nikki Slowey, the co-founder and director of Flexibility Works, said some bosses were “missing a trick” by adopting an “overly rigid way of working”.

In a bid to examine how hybrid working is being implemented, Flexibility Works, which is funded by the Scottish Government, commissioned the survey of 1,000 desk based workers in Scotland, with the research carried out in July.

While 22% said they had been told to return to the office full time by their employer, a slightly higher number (23%) said their bosses had given them the freedom to work wherever they chose.

More than a quarter (27%) have been asked to work in the office for between one and three days a week, with a further 18% of workers having been asked for a presence in the office, but without a prescribed number of days being set for this.

Most of the remaining workers were employed remotely before Covid, said their office had closed during the pandemic or that their employer had not yet been in contact with them about a return to the office.

Overall, nine out of 10 (91%) of workers with complete freedom over where they do their job said they were happy with their employer’s hybrid working model – compared with less than three quarters (72%) of those who have been asked to be in the office full time.

Speaking about the research, Ms Slowey said: “We were surprised to see one in five, desk-based workers being asked to work in the office full time.

“It suggests some employers still think flexible and hybrid working are too complicated, or they still don’t trust workers when they’re out of sight.”

She continued: “Workers absolutely understand the need for some face-to-face conversations and collaboration. And the office still has an important role to play in team cohesion, creative tasks and for training.

“We’re urging more employers to listen to their workers to find out what they think will work best, rather than implementing a well-meant but top-down working model.

“We know people are happier, more motivated and productive if they have some choice and control around where, when and how much work they do, so employers are missing a trick in nurturing a high-performing, loyal workforce if they insist on an overly rigid way of working.

“While the more brutal flipside is that people are more likely to leave their job for greater flexibility elsewhere.”

Lee Robertson, a senior manager for digital services at the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), said her employer’s flexible approach to hybrid working had given her the “perfect arrangement”.

Prior to the pandemic she commuted from her home in Fife to the office in Edinburgh, and on occasions had to leave home before her two young sons were awake, with the stress of juggling work and family life resulting in her cutting back her hours.

Now she works “mainly from home” going into the office “roughly once a month for collaborative tasks like team meetings and to brainstorm ideas”.

Ms Robertson continued: “I also mark in my diary to have no meetings between 3pm and 5pm so I can pick up my boys, sort their dinner and spend some time with them while I dip in and out of emails.

“And then if I need to, I work later in the evening. I can even fit in some morning or lunchtime runs these days too, which wouldn’t have been possible before.

“For me, it’s the perfect arrangement. It means I’ve been able to go back up to full-time hours, which is good for our family finances, and good for GTCS. And I still get to see my children more too. It’s a win-win.”