Based on a new survey that looks at work in the Canadian setting, office workers report how they are perceiving the corporate world a bit differently now. This is following having worked from home, and having experienced more fully the role that technology plays in the future of work.
A new Canadian study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Citrix spotlights just how Canadian employees are feeling about the reshaping of the corporate landscape. The research shows that many Canadians are beginning to re-imagine a new future of work. Here, 68 percent of those surveyed reveal that the lockdown experience has demonstrated that working-from-home with the right technology is perceived as being more productive than working in an office. The survey very much focuses on what workers feel rather than providing quantitative data for productivity.
Furthermore, 62 percent of those polled considered the future office as a place mainly for exchange and collaboration. This mean a preference for going into the office less often. While 62 percent saw the office reconfigured, a sizable, but smaller proportion – 42 percent – said they desired more flexible work models, allowing them to easily switch between the office and their home office. It is not certain how the remaining 20 percent would operate in a redesigned office environment.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, office workers from Canada worked from home an average of 2.89 days a month, with 7 percent indicating they never worked from home. Mandatory work-from-home measures have changed this, with working days shifting for many, and just under one-third (31 percent) being of the opinion that they are actually more productive when working from home, compared to working in the office.
It is conjectured that the working world has changed forever. Canadian employees reveal that as they do begin to head back to the office, 55 percent would like to work from home more often. This is something that many employers are mindful to accept. This proportion is followed by 42 percent expressing the view that they want a more fluid working style between office and home-working.
Among the reasons cited are factors of convenience and hygiene concerns around co-working spaces and hot-desks (matters raised by 69 percent of respondents). There is sufficient here for employers o sit up and to take note.
