Survey reveals Canadians' views on telecommuting

In early 2021, more Canadians moved to work remotely. According to Statistics Canada, more than 3 million Canadians were working from home in February 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Experts conducted a survey to find out if telecommuting has affected employees and how Canadians would like to work after the pandemic. Participants were drawn from people who worked for the same employer as they did before the pandemic and who had previously worked from home.

As it turns out, the vast majority (90%) of remote workers are as productive at home as they are at work, or even more productive. 58% said they complete the same amount of tasks in an hour as they do in the office, and 32% said they manage to do more work in an hour. All 10% of respondents said that they manage to complete fewer tasks in an hour at home than at their usual workplace.

The obtained indicators did not depend on age, gender, level of education, marital status, and presence of children. Responses about productivity were about the same in all groups. However, employers did not participate in the survey, so it is unknown whether the opinions of employees and employers coincide.

Although most workers are as productive at home as they are in the office, some of them (35%) work more hours per day remotely. But almost no one (3%) works fewer hours, regardless of productivity. Experts have yet to find out how working longer hours affects daily life.

Why are some workers less productive at home? Respondents gave different reasons: lack of interaction with colleagues, need to take care of children or other family members, problems with access to work information, unsuitable workplace, problems with the Internet.

Remote workers were also asked in what format they would prefer to work after a pandemic. 80% agreed that they would like to work from home at least half the time. 11% want to work from home most of the time, and 9% wouldn't mind working remotely entirely.