Work-life balance improves for many Canadians as more people forced to work from home: survey
Posted May 14, 2020 7:26 am.
Last Updated May 14, 2020 7:27 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As restrictions are slowly eased and we head back to work, the office may never be the same.
A lot of people have realized their jobs are doable from home, and according to a new survey from staffing firm Robert Half, more than half of us — 55 per cent — feel our work-life balance has seen a major improvement, especially when it comes to commuting.
“I think across particularly in Vancouver with transit, the way people can spend quite a long time commuting each day, shaving that off their day gives them a much better work-life balance, and probably allows them to spend more time with their family,” David Bolton with Robert Half explains.
Another realization respondents point out is how doable their jobs are from home, with 60 per cent saying so.
“We were really impressed with the number of people who came back,” Bolton explains. “Obviously, that varies from position to position, business to business. But, yeah, 60 per cent of employees thought that doing their job at home was doable, which they didn’t realize previously.”
As restrictions ease, many people are expected to head back into the office. That comes with some concerns, with the survey finding 46 per cent of respondents saying they’re worried about being in close proximity to others.
“There’s been lots of questions on people’s minds about what returning back to the office looks like. Nearly three quarters of people we surveyed had concerns about what are the cleaning protocols,” Bolton says. “There’s a lot of people out there that will be looking at restructuring the office layout, making sure that there’s distancing around the office workplace, and also looking at communal areas.”
He adds in the post-pandemic world, many of us are also hoping our employers are open to the idea of working from home more often, as well as holding fewer in-person meetings.
Whether working from home would be done on a full-time, part-time, or ad-hoc basis is still probably being worked out for many businesses, Bolton explains, adding that would, again, vary based on the company in question.
While questions remain, Bolton says there’s no doubt there will be changes when it comes to the future of employment.