Almost half of Canadian workers would look for a new job if forced to return to office

A majority of Canadian office workers just want to stay home.

So much so that two in five say they would look for a new job if forced to return to the office full-time, according to a new report from Amazon Business.

“It’s clear that the role that the physical office plays in the day-to-day work and satisfaction of employees has changed dramatically during the pandemic,” said Nick Georgijev, country manager for Amazon Business Canada, in a statement on Thursday.

Angus Reid surveyed nearly 1,600 Canadian office workers on behalf of Amazon Business for the report. The findings show that half of Canadians want to work mostly or entirely remotely.

While half of office workers had returned to the workplace prior to the height of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the report found that 31% of them were sent back to working from home exclusively due to Omicron.

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Overall, the future of office spaces is looking dismal. Only 12% of Canadians say they want to work in-office.

The report says that these expectations will likely play a major role in the employers’ ability to retain their best employees and hire new ones.

“Canadian employers will need to consider not just how and when to bring their employees back to the office, but if they should… and how to set that talent up for success from anywhere if they don’t return entirely,” added Georgijev.

The survey found that 57% of office workers would prefer a hybrid system, splitting their time equally between working in-office and remote.

While it might be hard to get people to work in-office full-time again, the report found that there were four incentives that could motivate workers to return.

Those polled say salary increases, more flexible work hours, more vacation, and better benefits would entice them to work in person again.

If an employer does expect people to work in the office, and many quit because of that, the report says replacing those workers could be challenging. More than half say they would be less likely to accept a job if the company mandated full-time work from the office.

Could this mean the offices will obsolete in the future? I guess we’ll see.