Working from home is here to stay, studies show

TORONTO – When the pandemic broke out over a year ago, many companies were concerned about how productively employees would be working from home.

However, two new surveys have shown that many employers have accepted that part of their workforce can no longer do without remote work.

Companies have found that some workers are much happier because they have flexible hours and can save time commuting.

Most agree that the workplace will look very different after the pandemic.

“Many Canadians want to work from home, as they do now, and it seems like business owners are open to it,” said Pierre Cleroux, chief economist for the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).

The BDC Working From Home Survey found that 74 percent of companies plan to offer remote working to their employees after the pandemic, and 55 percent of employees would like to work remotely as much or more as they do now.

The survey found that only nine percent of companies experienced decreased productivity.

“They always see more advantages than disadvantages, which is why they are open to more flexible remote work,” says Cleroux.

Many employees in large cities can spend up to two hours commuting to work, so being able to work from home saves time and money.

“Our study says that most work environments will adopt a hybrid model and will remain remote working from a talent perspective,” said Carolyn Levy of Randstad Canada.

Randstad Canada, a human resources company, conducted its own survey that found that 45 percent of people who work from home want flexible hours, 44 percent managers who trust them and listen to their concerns, and 39 percent want them the right equipment to be able to work from home.

Levy assumes that there will be three forms of employment in the future.

“You have to think about a team that consists of remote workers, hybrid workers and some people who are in the office full-time,” said Levy.

Employers can also hire workers in different provinces and cities remotely, and some workers who have moved to smaller towns or cottages can continue to work from home.

More than half of the respondents said that when they are looking for a new job they want to work from home at least part of the time and if that is not possible they will not take the job.