Working Lives Scotland

Working Lives Scotland is the CIPD’s annual benchmark on job quality in Scotland. For our sixth report, we surveyed over 1,000 workers from different sectors and occupations about key aspects of their work and employment. The resulting data and analysis offer evidence-based insights for people professionals, employers and policy-makers to improve work and working lives.

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Working Lives Scotland reframes the CIPD's seven dimensions of 'good work' to align with the five dimensions of 'fair work' specific to the framework set up by the Fair Work Convention in Scotland. These five dimensions are:

Respect
Security
Opportunity
Fufilment
Effective voice.

Our research can be used by policy-makers, employers and people practitioners to understand the links between good or fair work and individual wellbeing, organisational productivity and, in consequence, economic growth. Download the full report

Latest findings

	Drivers and outcomes of ill health at work 26% of Scottish employees (equating to around 690,000) say work has a negative impact on their mental health and 24% say it is negative for their physical health. High workloads, stress, exhaustion as well as poor workplace relationships and work–life balance are associated with negative impacts on health. Those who report negative impacts on mental health also report poorer job satisfaction and a higher likelihood to quit. They are less likely to recommend their employer or go above and beyond at work.
	Impact of automation by AI 12% of Scottish employees had some tasks automated by AI. These were mostly described as repetitive tasks. A significant majority (72%) of these said AI automation improved their performance at work. Overall, 30% of all employees think that there is a great deal/ fair amount of potential to automate their tasks in the future.
	Work–life balance challenges and negative impacts of commuting time High workloads, long commuting times and caring responsibilities have a negative impact on work–life balance. Over a fifth (22%) of Scottish employees find it hard to relax in their personal time due to their job. There is a linear relationship between the length of commute and negative outcomes, with impacts on job satisfaction, likelihood to quit and employee health.
	Hybrid working stabilising, but flexible working gaps remain Home and hybrid working patterns are unchanged from last year, but a gap remains between ways of working and preferences – a higher proportion of employees would like to work hybrid. Rates of flexible working remain higher than pre-pandemic, with 76% saying this has a positive impact on their quality of life. There is significant unmet demand for some flexible working options, primarily the four-day week, compressed hours and flexi-time.
	Employee voice scores and manager ratings improving Employee voice scores have improved for the first time in two years, as have manager ratings overall. Consistently, nearly a fifth (19%) of Scottish employees report no access to any voice channels, including one-to-one meetings with managers and team meetings. Almost a quarter (24%) of Scottish employees are members of a trade union or staff association. A fifth (20%) say management is in favour of trade union membership, with the same proportion saying the opposite.

Our report provides details of these and other findings along with analysis and recommendations to help people professionals, employers and policy-makers gain evidence-based insight and take appropriate action to improve outcomes for individuals, organisations and the economy.

The Scotland sample comprises 1,018 respondents of the total 5,017 employees across the UK.

Download the full report below