Exploring how the shift to working from home is affecting job satisfaction, productivity, teamwork, and equity and inclusion is an important step in assessing the current state of the workplace in Canada. Accordingly, this report updates the profile of who is and is not working from home, and how often, over four years after the onset of the pandemic. But it also explores the question of whether a rift is opening in the workplace between those who are and are not working from home. And it considers whether some workers feel they are missing out on some of the positive things that can happen when teams are able to work or gather together in person.
The survey found that about two in five Canadian workers typically work from home at least one day per week. Even more (about two in three) said that, going forward, they would like to have the option of working from home at least one day per week. The proportion of those currently working from home less often than they would like was much greater than the proportion working from home more often than they would like.
Most workers, regardless of whether they work from home or not, agreed that people who work at home are just as productive as those who work in their regular office or workplace, and that allowing people to work from home as much as they want has made their workplace a more enjoyable place to be.
But at the same time, respondents expressed concern about the impact of working from home on the workplace. For instance, about one in two workers agreed that:
- people who work at home are missing out on too many things that happen in the regular workplace,
- working from home impedes teamwork, and
- allowing some people to work from home is unfair to others who cannot.
Moreover, opinions differed between those who were and those who were not working from home. Specifically, the majority of those who do not work from home agreed that people who work from home miss out, that having some people work from home impedes teamwork, and that allowing some people to work from home is unfair. Meanwhile, the majority of those who work from home almost every day disagreed.
These results point to a possible rift emerging in the workplace that employers and managers may need to address.
Survey Details
The Survey on Employment and Skills is conducted by the Environics Institute for Survey Research, in partnership with the Future Skills Centre and the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University. The findings in this report are based on Wave 7 of the Survey, conducted in June 2024. The survey had a total sample of 5,855 adult Canadians, of which 4,043 were currently employed.
Funder
The Survey on Employment and Skills is funded primarily by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Centre / Le sondage sur l’emploi et les compétences est financé principalement par le Centre des Compétences futures du gouvernement du Canada.
The Survey on Employment and Skills is conducted by the Environics Institute for Survey Research, in partnership with the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University and the Future Skills Centre.
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