Our research shows more than half of Scottish frontline workers think their job could be done more flexibly without impacting performance, which is why we’re urging employers to expedite greater flexibility for frontline roles.
Our data from more than 600 Scottish frontline workers shows flexible working is steadily rising for people in frontline roles, such as in healthcare, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. But it’s not keeping pace with demand.
Demand for frontline flex
Nearly two thirds (63%) of frontline workers now work flexibly, up from 57% last year and 53% two years ago. But more than one in three (35%) still don’t work flexibly.
Tellingly, 56% of all frontline workers feel their job could be done more flexibly without impacting performance. This includes one in three (34%) frontline workers who currently have no flexibility at all.
While many frontline workers can’t work from home, other forms of flexible working are possible, such as having input to rotas, part time hours, being able to adjust start and finish times, being able to pop out for appointments, or compress hours, as well as being able to swap shifts easily.
Our co-founder and director Lisa Gallagher said: “It’s no longer acceptable for employers to say frontline roles can’t be flexible. It’s true many frontline workers can’t work from home but there are lots of other types of flexibility that help them plan and run their lives more smoothly. Often people want relatively small changes, such as starting and finishing a little later, or having input to their rota and being able to swap shifts easily.
“The fact so many frontline workers can see potential for flexibility, or more flexibility, in their role, without impacting performance is something employers should seize with both hands, especially if they have skills shortages or hard-to-fill roles. Employers that refuse to change will only find it harder to recruit and retain staff, have higher sickness and absence rates and generally lag behind their competitors.
“Given the UK Government is aiming to make flexible working the ‘default’ through its Employment Rights Bill, and there are stacks of existing evidence proving flexible working delivers significant business benefits, it’s time for employers to be much more open-minded about flexibility in frontline roles, and listening to their staff is the best place to start.”
20 minutes saves hundreds of pounds
Iain Redley, a design engineer at Almond Engineering, moved his start and finish time forward by just 20 minutes and has saved hundreds of pounds a month in childcare as a result.
He said: “When my twin daughters started school I asked if I could move my working day forward just a little bit, so I could pick them up at the end of the school day and avoid paying for after-school childcare.
“Even though I work the same number of hours, I feel like I have extra time in my day. I really enjoy spending time with my girls. I help them with their homework and run them to all their clubs, like dance and swim lessons, which they just wouldn’t be able to do if my wife and I both worked till gone 5pm. I also have time to cook more nutritious meals, so we all benefit from that too.
“At work I get so much done by starting early. I’m at my most alert and it’s usually very quiet so I can blast through tasks while my concentration is at its best. There are other people in the team who prefer a bit of a lie-in, and they work later when they concentrate well. It makes sense to let people work when they are naturally more productive.”
Michelle Quinn, managing director and co-owner of Almond Engineering, a precision engineering and manufacturing firm in Livingston, said: “From a business perspective, Iain completes all his weekly hours and works to a high standard, so why wouldn’t we let him make that small change?
“All our staff have some choice over when they start and finish and this certainly helps with retention and recruitment. We’ve recruited staff who were fed up with being on rigid shift rotas, or where their working hours or commute was affecting their work life balance. With us, they can work when suits them so long as it’s within our opening hours, and they are on site during our core hours, and they are much happier for it. This benefits us too because happier people work better. It’s a win-win situation.”
Almond Engineering is open between 7am and 7pm. Staff can choose when they work their hours, so long as it includes the core hours of 9am to 3pm.
Frontline flex and recruitment
Many frontline workers are actively seeking flexibility when they change jobs. Our data shows nearly two thirds (65%) of frontline workers currently thinking of changing jobs say a good work life balance is important in their job search. More than a third (35%) specifically say flexible working is important and one in six (16%) feel so strongly they will not apply for a role if flexibility is not mentioned in the job advert.
Our data also shows that flexibility for frontline staff continues to lag behind desk workers, with 63% and 74% respectively working flexibly.
Can we help you?
If you have frontline workers and would like support exploring new and more flexible ways of working, our Flex Essentials light-touch consultancy service includes a staff pulse survey, flex audit and a diagnostic report to show you quick-wins and longer term enhancements.
Or get in touch to arrange a friendly, no-pressure chat via hello@flexibilityworks.org
