3 IN 4 JOBS IN SCOTLAND ARE
OFF LIMITS FOR FLEXIBLE WORKERS
Despite pandemic-induced mass flexible working, three in four
job adverts in Scotland still offer no flexible working
options.
Analysis of more than 375K job vacancies for our
Timewise Flexible Jobs Index found the
proportion of roles offering flexibility has increased. But only
slightly - from 19% pre-pandemic to 24% late last year.
Pre-pandemic, seven in ten Scottish working adults already had a
flexible job, or wanted one. And then Covid radically changed
working patterns further. More than 60% of Scottish employees
worked from home at least some of the time during the pandemic, and
many workers flexed their hours around home responsibilities too.
So it's disappointing, to say the least, that recruitment hasn't
kept pace with such dramatic workplace change.
From an employer's perspective, there is already robust evidence
of the business benefits of flexibility, such as increased employee
loyalty, engagement and productivity as well as reduced sickness
absence, while including flexibility during recruitment allows
firms to appeal to a much larger and more diverse pool of potential
employees.
Zurich Insurance started advertising all vacancies as a
'part-time, job-share or full-time working opportunity' in
April 2019. Women applicants for senior management roles increased
by 45 per cent in the first three months.
For workers, finding a new job is hard for everyone in the
current climate, with increasing unemployment rates coupled with
fewer jobs due to the economic downturn. But our concern is that
the people who need flexibility the most, who tend to be women,
carers, older workers and those managing health conditions, face an
especially stark situation in Scotland.
With so few vacancies being offered with flexible options, those
who need flexible working face being left behind in the race to
find new jobs.
These key groups have already been disproportionately affected
by the pandemic, and without flexible jobs, it will be even harder
for them to get back on the jobs ladder, or move up. Instead of
reducing inequality, we could be increasing it.
We're asking employers to show they are open to flexible working
from job adverts onwards. This isn't losing control, or a
free-for-all. Flexibility has to work for both sides. But if you
are open to honest conversations, you'll find talented,
hard-working people to drive your business forward, often with
practical flexible solutions you'd never have thought of
yourself.
You can
read our full report or find out more information at timewise.co.uk
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