Working from home is here to stay, studies show
When the pandemic took hold over a year ago, many companies were concerned about how productive employees would be working from home.
But two new surveys find many employers have accepted that for some of their workforce, remote work is here to stay.
Businesses have found some workers are much happier because they can have flexible hours and save time commuting.
Most agree the workplace will look much different when the pandemic is over.
“A lot of Canadians are wanting to work from home the way they’re doing now and it seems like business owners are open to that" said Pierre Cleroux, Chief Economist with Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
The BDC’s working from home survey found that 74 per cent of businesses plan to offer employees remote work after the pandemic and 55 per cent of employees want to work remotely as much or more than they do now.
The survey found only nine per cent of businesses saw decreased productivity.
“They are seeing more and more benefits than disadvantages, which is why they are open to more flexible remote work," said Cleroux.
Many employees in major cities can spend up to two hours commuting back and forth to work, so being able to work from home has been a time and money saver.
“Our study is saying that most work environments will adopt a hybrid model and from the talent perspective remote work is here to stay" said Carolyn Levy, with Randstad Canada.
Randstad Canada, a human resources company has it's own survey which found of people working from home 45 per cent want flexible work hours, 44 per cent want managers who will trust them and listen to their concerns and 39 per cent want the proper equipment to be able to work from home.
Levy expects there will be three modes of employment in the future.
“You have to think about a team that will have remote workers, hybrid workers and some people who will be in the office full time" said Levy.
Employers can also hire workers in different provinces and cities with remote work and some employees who have moved to smaller towns or cottages can also continue to work from home.
More than half of those asked said if they're searching for a new job they'll want the ability to work from home at least some of the time and say if they can't they won't accept the position.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.