Change and continuity in Scottish job quality: what six years of <i>Working Lives Scotland</i> taught us

Purpose The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)’s Working Lives Scotland report has provided annual insights into job quality across Scotland since it was first published in 2020. Spanning periods just before the COVID-19 pandemic, at its height as well as after it, it allows us to look at how aspects of job quality changed – or indeed did not – over time. The purpose of this paper is to summarise key findings across the series. Design/methodology/approach Working Lives Scotland is underpinned by a survey of over 1,000 Scottish employees, weighted to be representative of Scottish adults over 16. It is based on the seven dimensions of good work as conceptualised by the CIPD and measures not only different job quality elements (job design, work-life balance and employee voice) but also job quality outcomes (job satisfaction, performance and likelihood to quit) and their respective associations. Findings We find consistent gaps in fair work, with differences between organisational characteristics (occupations, sectors and business size) and individual characteristics (gender, age and disability). We can see evidence of job quality clustering, with several positive elements of fair work linking together for some employees (higher salary, better job autonomy and more flexible working) and several negative ones for others (higher workloads, poorer resources and excessive stress). We can also infer trade-offs employees make, be it consciously or unconsciously, between job quality elements. Originality/value There are implications from these findings for practitioners and policymakers alike. Primarily, we consistently highlight the relationship between fair work and job quality outcomes – from job satisfaction through task and contextual performance to retention and staff engagement. While the report offers insights annually, this article summarises the series as a whole, with changes and continuity highlighted throughout, and puts the findings in context of the fair work agenda in Scotland.