A new Research Co. poll has found that the current state of Canadian workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic may have an impact on how they continue to work in the future.
According to the survey, 73 per cent of Canadians think more people will “definitely” or “probably” work from home than they did before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Additionally, 63 per cent of Canadians expect more businesses to phase out travel, in favour of teleconferencing.
“Many Canadians believe some of the current features of their job will remain in place once offices are fully operational again,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co.
“Two thirds of Atlantic Canadians (67 per cent) and Quebecers (also 67 per cent) believe meetings that do not require travel will become the norm.”
Those Canadians currently working from home — as opposed to their regular office — were asked specifically about issues that may arise as they continue their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey says 65 per cent — almost two thirds — of Canada’s “provisional home workers” stated they would like the option to be able to work from home more often after the pandemic is over. This is raised to 72 per cent among men, and 76 per cent among those aged 55 and over.
Working from home has been easier than they originally thought, say 62 per cent of home workers across the country.
However nearly half still admit that are having a difficult time working due to the distractions at home.
More than half of the British Columbian respondents say distractions are a big concern while working from home, while only 23 per cent of those in Atlantic Canada feel the same way.
Two thirds of Canadians are missing interacting with coworkers at their regular offices, and a smaller portion — 44 per cent — miss the daily commute to their workplace.
When it comes to feeling their company trusts they are doing their work from home adequately, the survey states 80 per cent of Canadians feel this is the case, and 69 per cent think their place of work is equipped to continue to offer a work-from-home model.
The results of this poll are based on an online study conducted between April 9th and 11th among 1,000 adults that form a representative sample of the Canadian population.
The data was weighed statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error, which measures sample variability, is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
