Nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) of Canadian employees say return-to-worksite mandates impose a financial burden, a percentage that increases to 70 per cent among hybrid workers due to the cost of working remotely and onsite, according to a new survey by Capterra Inc.
The survey, which polled 250 Canadian workers, found 81 per cent said their salary hasn’t kept up with the increasing cost of living. Indeed, the majority of Canadians said they’ve experienced increased personal costs over the past 12 months, particularly in groceries (93 per cent), eating at restaurants (85 per cent), utilities (74 per cent), gas (74 per cent), childcare (63 per cent), car insurance (58 per cent) and public transit (44 per cent).
Read: 71% of Canadian workers say rising cost of living is increasing faster than their income: survey
Many workers said employers should cover work-specific costs, including parking (71 per cent), clothing and uniforms (58 per cent) and toll roads (36 per cent). Conversely, some workers said they’d be happy to share the cost of certain expenses with their employer, including food (27 per cent) and childcare (28 per cent).
More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of employees said they’d look for a new job if they felt they were having to spend more of their income to go into the office and 64 per cent said they’d at least ask for a raise. Among employees in a remote working arrangement, two-fifths (40 per cent) said they’d consider accepting a pay cut to keep working from home full time.
In addition to financial compensation, employees said they’d welcome alternative policies and requirements to help lower their commuting costs, including flexible work schedules (72 per cent) and informal dress codes (37 per cent). Among working parents, 27 per cent said their onsite working experience would be improved if their employer offered days for when they could bring their child to work.
Read: 29% of Canadian employees want to work remotely to save commuting costs, time: survey