A survey published Thursday found that there is a gap between what Ontario employers’ plans are for working from home as opposed to what employees’ preferences are.
The Hybrid Work Study, which was conducted for Cisco Canada by Angus Reid, found that 73 per cent of Ontario companies have plans to return or are currently have a plan in place which requires a mandatory number of days in office.
The study found that 84 per cent of employees prefer to have a more flexible choice in work location and hours.
In addition, the study found that employers in Ontario are twice as likely (69 per cent) to ask their charges to come to the office as the rest of Canada (39 per cent).
Cisco Canada says that the results show that the setup that workers would prefer is evolving and Ontario bosses are not following suit.
“They’ll need to address this gap to create a culture that empowers employees and encourages them to thrive and retain top talent,” a release from the company reads.
The study found other key differences between employers’ expectations and that of other areas of the country, including the assumption that staff would be willing to move closer to work rather than commute.
In Ontario, 43 per cent of those surveyed believed this was the case, which is well above western Canada (18 per cent) and Quebec (9 per cent).
In addition, employers in Ontario were above the national average in holding a belief that having staff at the office would promote engagement in corporate culture (52 per cent vs 46 per cent) while they also believed there would be more opportunities for career growth (43 per cent vs 38 per cent).
From the employees’ end, while cost of living has mushroomed over the past year due to spiking inflation, just 37 per cent of workers have seen companies step up to help them deal with it.
That number comes as 68 per cent of employers say they have done so.
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