Vancouver – The way Canadian workers are currently dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak will have repercussions on how we conduct business in the future, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 73% of Canadians think more people will “definitely” or “probably” work from home than before once the COVID-19 outbreak ends.
In addition, 63% of Canadians expect more companies to phase out business 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%) and Quebecers (also 67%) believe meetings that do not require travel will become the norm.”
Canadians who are currently working from home instead of their regular office were asked about specific issues they are facing as they fulfill their duties during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Almost two thirds of Canada’s “provisional home workers” (65%) hope they would like to be able to work from home more often after the COVID-19 outbreak has passed—a proportion that jumps to 72% among men and 76% among those aged 55 and over.
Across the country, 62% of “provisional home workers” say working from home has been easier than they originally thought, but almost half (46%) are having a difficult time working due to the distractions at home.
Home distractions are a big concern for “provisional home workers in British Columbia (55%), while only 23% of those in Atlantic Canada feel the same way.
Two thirds of “provisional home workers” in Canada (67%) say they miss interacting with other people at their regular office, and a smaller proportion (44%) miss commuting to their workplace.
“Provisional home workers” in Quebec are more likely to say their miss their daily commute (50%), followed by those who reside in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (47%), Ontario (44%), British Columbia (43%), Atlantic Canada (39%) and Alberta (38%).
Four-in-five “provisional home workers” (80%) feel their company trusts they are doing their work from home, and almost seven-in-ten (69%) believe their company is perfectly equipped for them to carry on with their duties from home.
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from April 9 to April 11, 2020, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been 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.
