80,000 Scottish workers quit over a lack of flexibility as return-to-office pressure grows

New CIPD research reveals a growing mismatch between employer and employee expectations which saw 80,000 Scottish workers leave their jobs in the past year due to a lack of flexibility. The research also points to growing tension between employers and employees over hybrid working.  Almost half of Scottish employees (49%) said they felt pressure to spend more time in the workplace, with 71% agreeing most of the pressure is coming from senior leaders. Despite this, one in ten (10%) Scottish employers plan to introduce, or increase, mandated days in the office.

However, people’s appetite for flexible work remains strong. Three per cent of Scots surveyed – equivalent to around 80,000 workers – say they have left a job in the last year (since January 2024) due to a lack of flexible working. In response, the CIPD is calling for a more balanced approach to return-to-workplace mandates, that consider both business and employee needs, support collaboration, talent attraction and retention, while giving people the flexibility they value.

The CIPD’s Flexible and Hybrid Working Practices in 2025 report, based on a survey of 2,000 employers and 5,000 employees, provides a snapshot of flexible working more than one year since UK workers gained the legal right to request flexible working from their first day at work.

The report highlights the need for organisations to embrace more flexible working arrangements like flexi-time, job sharing and compressed hours, so people who aren’t able to work from home can benefit from flexibility too.

While most organisations in Scotland (92%) offer some form of flexible working, just over half of UK organisations surveyed (51%) require employees to be on-site a minimum number of days per week – most commonly three – and a further 14% mandate a certain number of office days per month.

The most common reasons cited for more time in the workplace are to improve connections and relationships, improve collaboration, boost engagement, and support onboarding and training.

However, these ambitions must also be considered alongside efforts to attract and retain people, especially given many organisations in Scotland continue to grapple with hard-to-fill vacancies and skills shortages**. Flexible working offers clear benefits for individuals. Four in five Scottish workers (80%) say it has improved their quality of life and nearly a third (30%) said it had a positive impact on their career prospects.

Marek Zemanik, senior public policy advisor for the UK nations at the CIPD – the professional body for HR and people development – said: “There’s a clear mismatch between what some employers are pushing for and what many employees value. Hybrid working has benefits for employee satisfaction and attracting and retaining talent, often helping those with health conditions, disabilities or caring responsibilities to remain and thrive in work. However, it can also bring challenges for employers, particularly around organisation culture, connection to organisation purpose and the ability of managers to lead their teams effectively.

“But it doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. This may mean designating in-office days for team collaboration, while preserving flexibility for focused work at home. There’s no one size fits all solution and for many organisations, it’s about finding the right balance that supports people’s performance and wellbeing, while meeting the needs of the business.”

Many organisations are already taking steps to make the office experience more attractive. Almost half (44%) of those offering hybrid working in Scotland have introduced incentives, such as improved workspaces, team-building activities, flexible hours, free food and drink, and commuter benefits.

Zemanik added: “It’s good to see employers thinking about how they can make their workplace experience more valuable for their people. But decisions around hybrid working should be based on evidence — not assumptions or pressure from the top. Consulting employees and measuring the impact on performance, satisfaction and retention will lead to more sustainable outcomes.”