PERFORMANCE has not suffered by previously office-based Scottish Borders Council staff working from home, senior councillors have been informed.

So-called ‘agile’ or ‘hybrid’ working, where staff work from home a large part of the working week – rather than spending the majority of time in an office environment – has become the norm post-COVID.

On Tuesday, members of the council’s decision-making Executive Committee considered a report on the impact agile working was having on council performance.

The local authority employs 5,100 staff over a wide range of different services, with most in customer-facing roles, such as Adult Social Care, waste collection and education.

But there are 1,200 office-based posts, the majority of which post-pandemic are suited to agile working, the report states.

The data in the report appears to debunk the perception among some that working from home results in “work not being done”.

The report compares performance data from 2019/20 to that from 2022/23.

It shows that in 88 per cent of cases performance had improved or remained unchanged.

Additionally, flexible working was proving a benefit in recruiting and retaining staff.

Other benefits are increased staff well-being, reduced overhead costs and a reduced carbon footprint.

But despite those benefits, members also agreed to an amendment to the report, stating that the council continues to “encourage regular office attendance within the agile framework”.

Councillor Mark Rowley, SBC’s executive member for service delivery and transformation, said: “What is really important to me is that we are taking decisions based on data and we’ve looked at what we are achieving.

“A big part of this for me is how do we support our staff to work in a way that suits them as well as us, that is really good for their needs, whether it be mental well-being or care responsibilities, looking after their children or staying close to their families and I’m pleased that, even though we have been through some rocky years, performance doesn’t appear to have suffered and in many cases has improved.”

Councillor Fay Sinclair, who represents Galashiels, said: “I think that this is fantastic data that backs up the approach that has been taken but there is a perception sometimes that if buildings are empty, that there no people there, then they are not working and as we can see from this that is not the case.”

Tweeddale East councillor Marshall Douglas described the move to hybrid working as a “positive” one.

He said: “All of this has been largely brought about by COVID but I think that given the geography of the Borders it’s actually been a very positive move.

“It saves on the footprint of CO2 and running back and forwards in cars to meetings, not only for councillors but staff as well and there’s a massive saving within that.

“I take on-board the benefits of working from the office and it is important to get into the office to work with colleagues, although the online environment does provide that to some extent with chat rooms, but we shouldn’t be enforcing that people come in three days a week because different situations impact different people.

“We need to get the message out that people in the council are working, are productive and it’s really value for money.”