Since the COVID-19 pandemic has begun, the boundaries between work and home have blurred.
A new survey has revealed that many Canadian workers are paying a “COVID Tax,” meaning they’re working more hours and feeling more stressed.
The survey from ADP Canada and Angus Reid revealed that of the 44 percent of respondents reporting working longer hours, one in ten reported working an additional day or more (8+ hours) per week.
Comparatively, only 15 per cent reported working fewer hours, while 38 per cent reported no change.
Not only that but stress levels rose seven per cent over the past year, from 34 per cent in April 2020 to 41 per cent in April 2021.
46 per cent of remote workers surveyed were feeling less engaged with their work since the start of the pandemic.
But despite the longer hours, 42 per cent of remote workers are feeling more productive and over a third have noticed an increase in the quality of their work, compared to April of last year, where 19 per cent of remote workers reported increased quality of work and productivity working from home.
The online survey of 1501 working Canadians was completed between April 14th and April 15th, 2021.
Paid-sick leave and stress
In addition, 80% of working Canadians believe their employers should be implementing paid time off, followed by onsite vaccination clinics, and, then, information and resources.
Seven-in-ten (69%) said their employer had not instituted any initiatives to help with fatigue related to video-conferencing platforms.
On Monday, the BC government implemented the ‘Made-in-BC’ COVID-19 sick leave.
