RECENTLY I was asked to contribute to the Women in Office website, an online forum created by the University of St Andrew’s to celebrate the achievements of women.

In it I reflected on when I first worked in Brussels for a large American legal firm. I was back in Brussels recently to speak to government and industry representatives from across Europe on how we champion women’s enterprise.

I had been asked if I had experienced sexism or misogyny in my career. It may be surprising to some, that going into the legal profession and then politics, I don’t feel that I did. What I did have to deal with were work cultures that demanded incredibly long hours with no real degree of flexibility or consideration of the impact that has on employees.

There will always be jobs that require a great deal of commitment from workers.

The improvement we see now is that employers now recognise that strict shift patterns and no regard for encouraging a positive work-life balance in their staff are counterproductive.

Flexible working is often cited as important to working parents – particularly working mothers. It absolutely is, but reviewing how a company operates is relevant to every employee and vitally important to employers.

Our business culture has changed dramatically in the past decade. It continues to evolve and we need to keep up with that.

Online shopping, the ability to dial into meetings or access secure files from a huge distance, dealing in international markets and an expectation of 24-hour customer service means many companies need to deliver around the clock.

Employers and staff can turn that to their advantage if they are willing to look at what is beneficial about what they have done before and what would be better to discard.

For many that means more working at home or an ability to compress the working week across fewer days, or at times outside normal office hours.

Features like this can be the crucial deciding point for many people who have commitments outside work.

Evidence collected by Working Families, the UK’s leading work-life balance organisation, clearly shows that there are sound reasons for employers to make flexible working part of their business case. It helps with recruitment as it will appeal to a larger pool of prospective applicants.

The government is part of a group called the Family Friendly Working Scotland (FFWS) Partnership. Through this we work with Working Families, Parenting Across Scotland and Fathers Network Scotland to support and promote the development of family-friendly working across Scotland.

Research by our partners shows how flexible working can boost productivity and performance, improve morale and wellbeing, as well as enhancing staff retention and recruitment. The reputational benefits of being known for family friendly and flexible working practices are also increasingly important in being an ‘employer of choice’.

Showing an employee that you value them enough to consider adapting your traditional working practices – whether through compressed hours or remote working – will not only improve their opinion of the business, but will mean that they do not go looking elsewhere for an employer who can better meet their needs.

It also means the investment made in staff development isn’t lost along with an employee’s expertise and the contacts they have made.

The Modern Families Index 2015 Scotland, published in August, showed that if we don’t address the demand for flexible working now we can expect to see an even greater impact. Of those questioned 30 per cent were already caring for an elderly relative and almost 70 per cent expect to do so within the next decade.

There is a long way to go, but we are seeing attitudes change. Respected, successful business leaders are championing the benefits of being innovative with their working practises and the indication is that we are going to have to continue to develop even more alternatives to balance the changing needs of the workforce.

Annabelle Ewing is Minister for Youth and Women’s Employment