‘Employers who reverse their workforce to a traditional office environment will likely fall behind in the fight for top talent’
More than half of Canadian households had someone working from home over the past year, and many are unwilling to change their working arrangements, according to a survey by Angus Reid.
Twenty-nine per cent would like to continue working from home in perpetuity, while 44 per cent would like to work mostly from home and have some office time. Just over one in five would like to work mostly from the office and have some home time (22 per cent) while only five per cent would like to work from the office all the time.
When it comes to how they see themselves working in the foreseeable future, 37 per cent anticipate working from home while 35 per cent anticipate doing a mix of both working from home and working in the office.
And while 39 per cent say they will return to the office full time if their employer so demands, 25 per cent will go back but may start looking for a new job. Another 19 per cent would likely quit or look for a new job right away while 17 per cent are unsure.
One in three (33 per cent) employees currently working from home say that they will quit their job if forced to return to the workplace full time, according to a previous survey. Over half (54 per cent) say they would leave their company if current flexibility in schedule and work location is not extended post-pandemic, notes another report.
“Employees have experienced and demonstrated that they can maintain productivity working from home while enjoying greater work-life balance and so they will continue to prioritize a flex-first approach in their job searches,” says Nicole Gorton, director of Robert Half Australia. “This makes the integration of hybrid working arrangements a recruitment topic as employers who reverse their workforce to a traditional office environment are unlikely to be considered employers of choice and will likely fall behind in the fight for top talent.”
Benefits of working from home
Many workers say that working from home has been a positive experience for them. Over seven in 10 (71 per cent) say it has helped with work productivity and 61 per cent say it has been beneficial for their mental and emotional state.
However, 21 per cent say the social aspect of working from home has been terrible, while another 45 per cent say it has been challenging, found Angus Reid’s survey of more than 2,000 Canadians conducted July 9-13, 2021.
Nearly six in 10 (58 per cent) of workers worked in a hybrid model during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 83 per cent say that the hybrid model is optimal in the future, according to another report from Accenture.
