Three Quarters (74%) of Canadian Workers Have Returned to the Workplace
Toronto, ON, July 1, 2022 – After more than two years of employment disruptions, there is a sense among Canadians that the workplace might finally be returning to normal as many look to return to the office and re-engage with their coworkers. A recent poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Global News shows that fully three quarters (74%) of Canadian workers have returned to their pre-pandemic working conditions: 13% are working from home, as they did prior to the pandemic, 4% remain in their pre-pandemic hybrid model (partially working from home, partially at the workplace), while 57% are back at their place of work. One in ten (12%) workers remain fully working from home, although they were previously in the office, while 8% engage in a hybrid model not yet returning to their pre-pandemic norm of being in the office. There are no demographic patterns among Canadian workers for who has elected to remain at home or hybrid or who has elected to return to the workplace.
Reasons vary for those who have elected to work from or in a hybrid model rather than return to the workplace: time and money are a factor as 51% cite saving on commuting costs and 48% note saving on commuting time as key reasons they continue to work from home. The mental health benefits of working from home are also mentioned: 51% say they have better work-life balance while at home while 35% state it is a less stressful environment and 33% say they are happier at home. Other reasons for electing to work from home rather than return to the workplace include being more productive at home (31%), not feeling safe going back to the office (22%), easier to take care of pets (21%), employers no longer having a physical office (15%), easier to manage child care (13%), or another reason (9%).
For those who have returned to the workplace the most common reason for doing so is that their work cannot be done remotely (58%), followed by 23% who say they were not offered a choice to work from home. Other reasons for going back to the workplace include being more productive in the workplace (15%), liking getting out of the house (15%), preferring to work in-person (14%), wanting to see colleagues (12%), needing to separate work life and home (7%), wanting to get away from family (4%), or another reason (4%).
About the Study
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between June 9th to 13th, 2022, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,001 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Darrell Bricker
CEO, Ipsos Global Public Affairs
+1 416 324 2001
[email protected]
About Ipsos
Ipsos is the world’s third largest market research company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people.
Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.
Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).
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