Flex or fail: Employers and workers need to show greater flexibility

Five years have come and gone since Nicola Sturgeon took to the podium at St Andrew’s House to announce restrictions that amounted to a “lockdown”. And while for many life has mostly returned to normal, the pandemic also made some permanent changes.

“The general population had a big shift [digitally] which might have otherwise taken 10 years or maybe more”, Alison McLaughlin says.

Holding one of the most critical jobs amidst the pandemic – head of digital transformation at the Scottish Government – she remembers the “whole lot of drama and ‘unnervingness’” of that time.

Yet one thing became clear, she says: “If you didn't have a way to be online then you couldn't operate.”

Covid accelerated the globalisation of markets and triggered a race for technological catch-up among businesses. For Russell Dalgleish, co-founder of the Scottish Business Network, the move to digital allowed him to become a “serial entrepreneur”.

He explains: “Before 2020 I would perhaps have started a company every couple of years, we would have had to sit down, plan it out, build a business plan.

“I've started three companies this year. Suddenly we have recognised that what a company is, it's not bricks and mortar, it's a brand. And previously a brand was something only a big company could have”.

Many also argue that the speedy shift towards digital equipped us for what lies ahead. McLaughlin tells Holyrood: “Now you've got a building block to say, ‘What about AI?’… There’s more of us in a better place to take the value of that than we might have been without Covid.”

The pandemic made resilience to constant change a company’s strongest asset, re-shaping customers, employees, and employers’ expectations. Empty desks and back-to-back Teams meetings re-defined work life. However, as restrictions lifted, a new battle brewed between employers who pushed for a return to the office, and employees who demanded flexibility.

Five years on, full-time office work shows little sign of returning. In its ‘Make Work Pay’ plan, Labour pledged to “embrace technological advancements” and make “flexible work the default from day one”. And, while flexibility was already a day one right under legislation passed by the prior Conservative Government, the new Employment Rights Bill (currently going through the Lords, having passed in the Commons two weeks ago) will take this further. It will require employers to justify why their refusal of a flexible working request is reasonable.

“The pandemic reset the dial on that dynamic between employer and employee,” Lynn Houmdi, founder of Flexible Working Scotland explains.

“I think there wasn’t any imperative for employers to try these new ways of working until the pandemic. And I think while a lot of women, particularly mums and carers, had probably wanted different ways of work, honestly, I don't think anybody would have been listening”, she adds.

For parents, caregivers, and those with other responsibilities, this newfound flexibility meant the difference between managing personal and professional lives more effectively. A study by Flexibility Works showed that for almost three in 10 unemployed parents, flexible working meant they could work when previously that was not possible, while other research has shown how it helped to reduce the disability employment gap.

Some experts have also found that flexibility isn’t only a perk but a productivity booster. Stanford University’s economics professor Nicholas Bloom found that three in four hybrid workers feel they are more productive, and three-quarters feel more motivated because of splitting their week.

“It is a really practical tool for enabling so many of us to get into work in the first place. And then to stay in work, remain happy and engaged, and hopefully enable us to progress,” Lisa Gallagher, co-founder of Flexibility Works, says.

For Iain Redley, a design engineer based in Livingston, pushing his start and finish time forward by 20 minutes, has saved him hundreds of pounds. The change has allowed the father-of-two to pick up his daughters from school, avoiding childcare costs. Similarly, for Kayle Smith, a single mum who was barely surviving on benefits, starting a hybrid role in a local council has meant her family is “finally moving forward”. They are just two of thousands of stories across the UK.

However, over the past two years various companies have been enforcing strict return-to-office instructions, including Boots, Rockstar Games and Asda. Lord Rose, former chairman of the supermarket chain, sparked controversy by claiming that working from home is creating a generation of people who are “not doing proper work”.

But his concerns – albeit to an extent – are echoed by various experts. The upcoming generation has not only seen remote working prevail but have done so in the shadow of significant advancements in technology. In 2023, a study conducted by market research firm Opinium revealed more than half of those aged between eight and 25 had used an AI chatbot such as ChatGPT to help them with emails, schoolwork or their jobs.

Bill Buchanan, computing professor at Edinburgh Napier University, says: “Our next generation might end up having superficial skills and never learn anything in depth… Our brains need to be nourished just as much as our bodies, and the act of learning involves taking in details from many sources, and not just what ChatGPT says. Learning is all about making mistakes, picking up bits of data and re-enforcing theory with practice.”

For McLaughlin remote work meant that she could spend more time with her son who has a learning disability, but she admits it has also taken a hit on overall productivity. “Individuals will say ‘I'm more productive at home’, but I don't think necessarily the overall teams are more productive because some of the softer things like teamwork, the personal relationships with people, the pulling together, are missing.”

Working from home has also taken a toll on workplace culture. In a half-empty office with differing schedules, daily tasks, decision-making or training can become increasingly challenging.

McLaughlin continues: “You join a new team, but you never actually meet them. How do people learn? You just don't learn from each other the way that you would.

“You pick things up by just being in an environment. Particularly when you're first starting out, you learn so much by just being a sponge because it's all around you. But if you're sitting at home, learning is much more transactional.

“Flexibility works both ways and I think there has got to be a very honest view of where that flexibility has to sit.”

Similarly, intergovernmental minister Pat McFadden seems to be an outlier in cabinet on the need for people to return to the office. Speaking to BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg he said: "If you ask me - my own instincts - there is value to being in the office, value from learning from your colleagues… I think being in the office is generally a good thing.”

Indeed, limited training opportunities has been a key issue at the heart of this debate. Early last year an employment tribunal ruled in favour of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) after it denied a senior manager's request to work fully from home. Miss Wilson had asked to work remotely after the FCA mandated a 40 per cent office return post-pandemic. The FCA argued that her absence from the office would hinder her performance, as it would prevent her from attending training, meetings, and coaching junior colleagues.

“If you and I were working on a project together, we would be much better working physically together,” Dalgleish argues. “The ability to develop trust, which is the oil of doing business, is just done so much better face to face.”

And while remote work has helped many balance their work and personal lives, it may also have negatively impacted employee’s mental health. An ‘always on’ work culture has become a by-product of the shift to an online work life. On average, 70 per cent of UK workers are struggling to unplug from their jobs, with almost three in 10 losing sleep over work-related messages or tasks, research by recruitment firm Robert Walters revealed.

This ongoing burnout crisis shows little sign of being resolved. Earlier this month, Labour axed its landmark ‘right to switch off’ initiative – banning employers from contacting staff out of working hours – citing concerns on the burden it would add on business at a time when they are already facing a tax hike. The measure, already implemented in countries like Ireland, France, and Spain, is expected to be revisited at a later date.

The prevalence of flexible working is also thought to be dividing the UK into a two-tier workforce. According to a report by Timewise, the conditions for frontline staff remain “frozen in time”. Nurses, cleaners and retail workers often miss out on the benefits offered by flexible working, highlighting the challenges of ensuring equality across the entire workforce.

North of the border, the parliament is equally divided on the matter. The Scottish Conservatives seem to be leaning towards a return to the office mandate – at least in the public sector where the shadow business secretary Murdo Fraser argues “taxpayers are ultimately picking up the bill”. He added that overall “the shift in working patterns” has had a “clear” impact on the economy, “notably on commercial property, city centre retailers and transport”, as well as on staff “morale”.

The Scottish Lib Dems stance, however, is in stark contrast to that of the Conservatives. Willie Rennie, the party’s economy spokesperson, said it made “no sense” to force workers back into the office “solely for the benefit of sandwich shops and commercial landlords” if the work was done to a “high standard” from home. However, he recognised concerns on how “younger, newer members of staff may miss out on mentorship and development”.

And Scottish Labour seems to be pulling in both directions. Its economy spokesperson Daniel Johnson told Holyrood that in the public sector, “in-person working can help teams share knowledge, collaborate and work more creatively and effectively” but also acknowledged businesses must “make the most of new technology to enable more flexible working practices”.

Holyrood also contacted the SNP and the Scottish Greens for comment but did not receive a response. 

Balancing all these needs is complex and may prove difficult to resolve. Looking ahead, Gallagher insists the “genie is out of the bottle” and the key lies in finding the “sweet spot between what's good for the person and good for the business”.

“I don't feel like it's going backwards now,” she says. “There isn't one-size-fits-all within one organisation but we would say there's an element of flexibility that could be appropriate for all.”

Failing to find this “sweet spot” may force workers to take jobs below their skillset, slow progress in closing the gender pay gap as rising childcare costs force mothers out of work, and worsen labour shortages in the face of an ageing population.

Houmdi adds: “Workplaces would be less diverse… It would obviously have a massive detriment to the economy because if people are not able to access work, they're claiming benefits or they're falling into poverty. It would also have an impact on child poverty because flexible working is a significant perk that enables parents to work.”