A pair of employment specialists believe Canadians forced to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic are not likely to return full time to their workplace, if given a choice.
Economist, author and director of the Center for Future Work Jim Stanford suggests the third of Canadians that shifted to a home office during the pandemic appear to have embraced the lifestyle change.
“It was great for them,” Stanford told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton.
“They could keep their jobs, they could keep their incomes, they didn’t have to go out and brave getting COVID at work or on the bus to work or whatever.”
Statistics Canada data between the spring of 2020 and summer 2021 revealed about 30 per cent of employees aged 15 to 64 performed most of their hours from home.
In contrast, about four per cent of employees worked from home in 2016.
Office workers, professionals and managers in the finance, professional and technical services sectors made up seven in 10 people who worked from home during the survey period, with only five per cent in the accommodation and food services performing their jobs from home.
Dean Jesuvant, a vice president at Hays Specialist Recruitment, says generally there is an adoption of the “hybrid model” workstyle with most businesses finding little decline in productivity and in some cases a more productive work environment.
However, Jesuvant is quick to point to a 2021 office worker’s survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) in which team leaders had challenges with problem-solving and coaching skills in a hybrid world.
“I think the one thing to note, though … factors such as culture and collaboration, 60 per cent of Canadian employees across the board are maintaining that morale and company culture is a huge challenge in a remote environment,” Jesuvant said.
Stanford agrees in-person time is something employers will want “to get the most communication and cooperation” within office teams.
“It’s also a better chance to keep an eye on people and what they’re doing … that they’re working and not watching Netflix or having an afternoon nap,” Stanford said.
Supporting the theory that Canadians are leaning toward keeping at least a hybrid work style, a 2021-22 Amazon business survey suggests 43 per cent of workers said they would look for a new job if mandated to work from the office on a full-time basis.
Of the 1,600 surveyed, 55 per cent said they would be less likely to accept a new job if they were required to work full-time from the office.
Only 12 per cent were in favour of physically working on-site full-time.
Both analysts believe some businesses in larger Canadian cities will expect workers back in the office five days a week since many still have pricey leases on office space that still needs a use.
A legal expert from Samfiru Tumarkin LLP says employers do have the upper hand with that issue and can require their workers to return their office space.
“It is ultimately, for the most part, the employer’s decision,” said lawyer Alex Lucifero.
“For those employees who have been working from home temporarily as a result of COVID, it’s been made clear to them that it is a temporary measure … the employer in those cases does have the right to return employees back to the office,” he told Global News.
Jesuvant says that stance is likely to be troublesome for some employers not only in hanging on to existing talent but tough for recruitment.
“I think employers … forcing employees to go back to the office … are going to find it extremely difficult to attract and retain their current employees as well,” said Jesuvant.
Both Stanford and Jesuvant say employers and workers will also have mental health and work-life balance issues to juggle amid a hybrid model.
The PwC survey revealed 46 per cent of respondents claim mental health issues have been one of their biggest work challenges and feel “disconnected” with their careers.
Additionally, the Mental Health Commission of Canada reports that 30 per cent of disability claims in recent years across Canada involve mental health afflictions.
“The other one on the back of that is employee well-being, a top priority for most employees and candidates looking for employment,” Jesuvant said.
“So I think companies ensuring benefits around wellbeing, for example, managing the balance between driving productivity and employee wellbeing is very important.”
Stanford says setting parameters around work hours between an employer and staff will also be paramount for the success of any hybrid model.
“If you’re working from home … your employer has probably thought, ‘you know what, they’re just at home … I’ll call them or email them at 8 o’clock at night,'” said Stanford.
“So the whole issue of where does your work stop and your life begin got a bit more complicated.”
– with files Global News’ from Saba Aziz
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