ACCORDING to new research released today, half (51%) of Scottish workers want more flexibility – and more than one in three (34%) with children under 18 would consider term-time-only working. The survey, a YouGov poll commissioned by Amazon, also reveals almost half (44%) of workers in Scotland say they have no option to work flexibly at all.
The survey follows a recent expansion of Amazon’s own term-time working option. Launched as a response to employee feedback, this option is now available to thousands of people across Amazon’s operations network following a pilot in the company’s larger fulfilment centres to understand how the option could better support families during school holidays.
The company also recently introduced Amazon Anytime; a flexible part-time contract for a minimum of 80 hours a month, which lets employees pick and mix the shifts which suit their needs – part-day or full-day, day or night, weekday or weekend.
The new survey also reveals:
- Three quarters (74%) of working parents in Scotland say flexible working is a priority when thinking about their next job
- A better work-life balance (63%) and less commuting (53%) are the top perceived benefits of flexibility for working parents in Scotland
John Boumphrey, Amazon’s UK Country Manager, said: “These findings clearly demonstrate the huge importance of workplace flexibility, and why it matters so much to employees in Scotland and across the UK. At Amazon, we’re always listening to our employees and innovating for our people, and we’re delighted to offer these ground-breaking contracts to help provide employees and their families more flexible options.
“We have a variety of different full-time and part-time contracts, and we’ve also provided a four-day working week for our fulfilment centre employees for many years. Term-time working and Amazon Anytime are examples of how we continue to use feedback to support our people, help with childcare needs, and give families more time together.”
Workplace flexibility featured in Labour’s election manifesto, with a pledge to ‘ensure workers can benefit from flexible working, including opportunities for flexi-time contracts and hours that better accommodate school terms.
YouGov fieldwork was undertaken between 21st– 25th June 2024. The survey questions were asked to 4,237 UK adults, of which 2,407 were working adults. This survey was conducted online. The figures were weighted to be representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
