Canadian employees are in no rush to head back to the office even as the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in this country continues to decline, a new survey by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies suggests.
Read: 81% of investment industry employees want hybrid work model post-pandemic: survey
The Leger survey queried 1,647 Canadians between May 21-23 online. The majority (82 per cent) of Canadian respondents who’ve worked from home during the pandemic have found the experience to be very or somewhat positive, while just 20 per cent want to return to the office every day. Half of Canadians (50 per cent) who want to return to their workplace wouldn’t be comfortable returning to work if some of their colleagues are not vaccinated.
Read: Expert panel: How employers can help staff dive back into in-person work
Only 17 per cent described working from home as somewhat or very negative. Almost 60 per cent of those surveyed said they would prefer to return to the office part-time or occasionally, while 19 per cent said they never want to go back. The top three reasons for preferring to continue to work from home were convenience, saving money and increased productivity. Some 35 per cent of those surveyed in Canada agreed with the statement: “If my superiors ordered me to go back to the office, I would start to look for another job where I can work from home.”