The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) shared that 3 in 4 employers plan to continue offering remote work arrangements to their employees. Even when it’s safe to go back to the offices, employers are planning to continue with flexible policies.
14.2 million Canadians have been fully vaccinated. Consequently, offices are re-opening, and life, to some extent, is returning to what it was pre-pandemic. However, employers are still looking forward to performing under the remote work model when it comes to the corporate world. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages, making most companies rearrange their working structure for a hybrid (and in some cases fully remote) model.
Insights about Remote Work in Canada
According to the BDC report, 3 in 4 (74%) employers will continue to offer employees remote work arrangements. Additionally, 54% of employees say that access to remote work will help them determine whether they will accept or reject a job offer. And 27% of small and medium-sized companies agreed that remote work had enabled them to access a wider talent pool.
For most businesses, the benefits are so important that they want to keep offering it even once the pandemic is over.According to Pierre Cléroux, VP for Research and Chief Economist
Having remote work policies offers great advantages for businesses. According to the report, employers agreed that:
- 54% say flexible working hours is the biggest benefit
- 35% say it helped them improve employee retention
- 34% say it has reduced operating costs
For employees, in the other hand, the main advantages are:
- 84% think that reduced commuting time is the biggest perk
- 62% enjoy having flexible working hours
- 58% have improved their work-life balance
A different survey conducted by Normandin Beaudry shared that 91% of organizations have adopted telework policies or are planning to do so. Before the pandemic, only 26% of employers had such a policy in their workplace.