Most Canadians Want To Keep Working From Home, Study Suggests
In the years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, very few Canadians were given the opportunity to work from home. According to Statistics Canada, only four percent of the workforce aged 15-69 used their home as an office. But, in 2021, 32 percent are working from home, as many workspaces are temporarily closed, or people have been afforded the option by employers.
In total, 3.1 million people say they are “temporarily” working from home due to Covid-19. The pandemic has created a worldwide social experiment.
The latest survey data from Statistics Canada suggest 90 percent of employees feel they are as productive, or even more productive while working from home. In total, 58 percent say they are equally productive at home, while 32 percent actually say they get more work done. Only 10 percent of those survey say they are less productive at home.
“Regardless of age, educational attainment, marital status, industry, occupation, and whether or not they have children, men and women tended to report to a similar extent being at least as productive at home as they were in the past at their usual place of work,” reads an excerpt of the Stats Can study.
“The likelihood of accomplishing more work per hour varied across industries. For example, the percentage of new teleworkers who reported doing more work per hour was relatively high in public administration (41 percent) and health care and social assistance (45 percent). In contrast, the corresponding percentage amounted to 31 percent in goods-producing industries.”
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The Stats Can report also noted a potential problem of working remotely, where the divide between home and office becomes blurred. 35 percent of those surveyed say they are working longer hours from home, while only three percent worked fewer hours.
“The degree to which these longer hours affect family-work balance and the extent to which they will persist once the Covid-19 pandemic is over remain to be seen,” states the survey.
These survey results suggest the workplace of the future may never be the same. Eighty percent of those questioned say they would like to work at least half their hours from home when the pandemic is over.
However, it is worth noting that those who dislike working from home observed various obstacles of remote work: missing the social interaction with coworkers, lack of physical space for work at home, and difficulty accessing information and work-related technology, etc.
In certain careers, there was a stronger desire to have a separate workplace. It should come as no surprise that the majority of teachers (54 percent) prefer to spend their work hours in the classroom, for example.
Although these numbers may suggest that more people will work from home post-pandemic, it should be noted that the survey didn’t include how employers felt about remote working. And it is employers, after all, who will make the final call.
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