A third of Scottish workers say that the negative impact of work on their mental health as well as poor outcomes will drive them to likely quit their jobs in the next 12 months.

This is according to research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which analysed the everyday experience of over 1,000 Scottish workers, highlighting where employers need to make change to improve working conditions for everyday Scots.

About a quarter (26%) of Scottish employees say work has a negative impact on their mental health, with another quarter (24%) saying it negatively impacts their physical health.

These employees are more likely to quit, report worse job satisfaction, and are less likely to recommend their employer or go above and beyond at work.

High workloads, stress, exhaustion as well as poor workplace relationships and work-life balance are associated with negative impacts on health.

Work-life Balance

Work-life balance continues to suffer, as workloads are compounded by long commuting times and caring responsibilities.

Over a fifth (22%) of Scottish employees find it hard to relax in their personal time due to their job.

The report found a linear relationship between the length of commute and negative outcomes, with impacts on job satisfaction, likelihood to quit, and employee health.

Impact of Automation

More than one in ten (12%) Scottish employees had some tasks automated by AI, the report found. Most of these were described as repetitive tasks.

A significant majority (72%) of these said AI automation has 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.

Hybrid and Flexible Working

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.

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Employee-Manager Relationships

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.

“Fair work offers all individuals an effective voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect and is increasingly recognised as a key driver for business success and broader economic prosperity. Improving fair work balances the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers and generates benefits for individuals, organisations and society,” Patricia Findlay and Mary Alexander, co-chairs of the Fair Work Convention, wrote in the report’s foreword.