Technology , Tools, And Software In The Workplace

Toronto, ON - According to a new Ipsos-Reid survey conducted on behalf of Microsoft, three-quarters (75%) of employed Canadians or unemployed Canadians who are looking for work, say that when choosing a place to work, technology tools and software are an important consideration. However, one in five (20% or approximately 2.5 million*) employed Canadians do not think their company is committed to providing its employees with the latest and best software, technology, and tools and 13% (or approximately 1.7 million) do not think their company provides them with the tools and software they need to be their most productive.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Microsoft poll conducted from February 18th to February 27th, 2005. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1130 full-time employed, part-time employed, and unemployed but looking for work adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1772.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population been polled. Of this sample, 1055 are full-time or part-time employed and the margin of error for this group is 1773.0%. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

*53% of Canadian adults are employed full-time (45%) or part-time (8%), this equates to approximately 12.7 million Canadian adults. Therefore, 20% of part-time or full-time employees is equivalent to approximately 2.5 million Canadian adults.

Three-quarters (75%) of employed Canadians or unemployed Canadians, who are looking for work, agree (37% "strongly agree" and 38% "somewhat agree") that "when choosing a place to work, technology tools and software are an important consideration." Conversely, one-quarter disagrees (17% "somewhat disagree" and 9% "strongly disagree").

• Residents of Quebec are much less likely than other Canadians to agree with the statement: "when choosing a place to work, technology tools and software are an important consideration." Six in ten (59%) residents of Quebec agree compared to 90% of Atlantic Canadians, 87% of residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba, 79% of Ontarians, 77% of British Columbians, and 75% of Albertans.

One in five (20%) employed Canadians disagree (7% "strongly disagree" and 12% "somewhat disagree") that their "company is committed to providing its employees with the latest and best software, technology, and tools." Eight in ten (80%) agree with this statement (43% "somewhat agree" and 38% "strongly agree").

• Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (26%), British Columbia (23%), Alberta (22%), and Ontario (21%) are nominally more likely than Atlantic Canadians (13%) and Quebecers (14%) to disagree that their "company is committed to providing its employees with the latest and best software, technology, and tools."

One in eight (13%) employed Canadians disagree (5% "strongly disagree" and 8% "somewhat disagree") that their "company provides them with the tools and software they need to be their most productive." On the other hand, 87% agree with this statement (35% "somewhat agree" and 52% "strongly agree").

• Regionally, 18% of residents of both British Columbia and Alberta, 12% of residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba and Ontario, 10% of Quebecers, and 8% of Atlantic Canadians disagree that their "company provides them with the tools and software they need to be their most productive."

Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Jennifer McLeod
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900