Two thirds of Scottish workers considering greener career moves

Nearly three in five Scottish workers (57%) would consider taking a pay cut if a new role offered other benefits.

Aviva’s latest How We Live report revealed that a fifth of Scottish workers (19%) would think about taking a lower salary if they had the option to do hybrid working, while 29% would do the same if they were able to choose flexible working hours.

Almost a fifth of Scottish workers (18%) would be prepared to take a wage cut if they were going to work for a charity or not-for-profit organisation and 14% would do so if the company had strong environmental credentials.

In the latter two cases, the view is higher amongst under-25s, with a quarter of people in this age group saying they would consider a lower salary for these reasons.

The previous edition of the same report, in November, discovered two thirds of employees intend to make changes to their careers in the next 12 months.

Aside from potential pay-cuts, more than half (55%) of Scottish workers would consider changing their current role for a “greener” career.

The study suggests that this attitude is more prevalent in some sectors than others, with workers in finance and engineering among those most likely to hold this view at 70% in both cases.

However, there is also evidence that employers are becoming greener. Nearly three quarters of Scottish workers (73%) say their employer has made changes to improve its environmental impact in the last five years – although four fifths of people within this group feel there is still more to do.

More than a fifth (21%) of Scottish workers say they are already participating in initiatives to make their employer more environmentally-friendly, while an additional 47% of employees would like to get more involved in this area.

Jon Marsh, managing director of partnerships at Aviva General Insurance, commented: “Sustainability is very much on the radar for businesses large and small and it is positive news that so many people in Scotland are bringing green thinking into their working routines, as well as their personal lives.

“Almost three quarters of Scottish workers acknowledge that their employer has made environmental progress in the past five years – but they want to do more to make a difference.

“This could mean actions taken in a current role or switching to a position with a more environmental focus.”

The research is based on a survey of 4,003 UK adults aged 16 and above, including 3,245 UK workers, by Censuswide in February.

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