40% of Canadians want a hybrid workplace model post-pandemic

Last week, certain provincial governments announced “restart” plans, including a gradual return to the workplace as vaccinations roll out.

The BC provincial government announced a four-step plan, with a slow return to work from May 25 onwards.

Following that, Alberta outlined their three-stage summer re-opening plan, with the work from home order lifted in mid-June.

• See also
  • Here’s British Columbia’s four-step plan to restart the province
  • Here’s Alberta’s three-stage plan to restart the province
  • Ford to unveil Ontario’s new reopening plan today

Although many are wanting to get back to normal, many Canadians have been enjoying working from home and want to continue post-pandemic.

Working from home has benefits such as a better work-life balance, less commute stress, saving money, and even positive environmental impact.

Leger conducted a survey on returning to work from May 21 to May 23. This survey included 1,624 Canadians who were 18 years of age or older, randomly recruited from its online panel.

Over 80% of Canadians who responded to the survey stated that working from home has been a “positive experience.”

Additionally, over 40% of those Canadians want a hybrid model of both work at home and the office, post-pandemic.

That being said, many are basing their return back to the workplace on vaccination rates, safety protocols, and flexibility.

Half of the Canadians survey do not feel comfortable going back to work knowing some of their colleagues are not vaccinated.

Also, 35% of Canadians said they would look for another remote job if their supervisor ordered them to return.

However, some are still looking forward to going back in person, as 20% of Canadians do want to go back to their workplace entirely.

The final stage of the restart plan and back to work differs in every province.

BC has stated that a complete return back to normal life and work will occur from September 7 onwards. Alberta has stated that all remaining public health restrictions will be lifted from early July onwards.

Both of these are depending on how the pandemic continues to progress, but it would be a good idea to have remote work options depending on people’s comfort levels.