Many Canadians want to keep working from home after pandemic: poll

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Working from home is easier than we thought, according to a new Research Co. survey. It finds the vast majority of Canadians would prefer not to return to the office, even after COVID-19 passes.

“This definitely has great connotations for whatever is going to be happening with the future of the office,” explains Mario Canseco, president of Research Co. “When you have four out of five people saying, ‘I want to continue to do this’ even on a part-time basis from home, because we have seen over the past few months that is possible to work and not be at your specific office.”

While four out of five Canadians would like to continue working from home even after #COVID19 passes, a new Research Co. poll finds two-thirds miss interacting with their colleagues. BC leads Canada on that score with 86 per cent admitting to missing their co-workers.

— John Ackermann ???? (@jackermann) December 11, 2020

“Even if you miss specific aspects of office life, and we do see people who say that they miss the camaraderie of the workplace, talking to people, there’s even some who say they miss their commute, but you still have four out of five who say, ‘I would like to work from home as much possible once the pandemic is over.'”

Two-thirds of those surveyed admit to missing their colleagues, a proportion that is much higher here in B.C.

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“It has the largest proportion of people who say that they miss going to the office because of their workmates. We have 86 per cent of those who are working in British Columbia who say that they miss their co-workers, the highest number in the country by far.”

The poll also found those aged 55-plus preferred working from home compared to their younger colleagues, who admitted to being prone to distractions around the house.