Flexible working emerges as new priority for manufacturing employees
9 Oct 2019
Automation and agile production methods are contributing to a growing demand among manufacturing staff for more flexible work patterns.
TTi Research’s Employee Benchmarking Surveys study workers across 11 sectors over a six-month period.
Its latest study reveals key changes in manufacturing staff attitudes, said commercial director Guy Luckett – most notably regarding flexibility at work.
“Historically, the Manufacturing sector has experienced consistently low staff expectations surrounding ‘flexibility in your role’. This is largely due to the fixed work patterns commonly associated with mass production processes.
“Staff are now placing greater value on employers offering more flexible and accommodating work patterns.”
Employer attributes sought by respondents were scored out of 10, with flexibility ranked 8.2. The highest score – 8.6 for ‘being empowered to make decisions’ – and a greater emphasis on training (8.0) was also attributable to the development of automation said Luckett.
“Automation allows employees to work increasingly independently, and smarter, in less time, while also supporting cost effectiveness and providing a boost to production.”
However, the evidence suggests that manufacturing still has employee hurdles to overcome. The sector scored joint lowest for employee engagement (7.8) and lowest overall for job satisfaction (7.4).
Photo: EU Automation is one of the companies at the forefront of developing modern engineering culture.
