Issues Canadians should pay attention to in a world of remote work

The pandemic has definitely become the main reason for the recent remote work trend. Canadians got used to comfortable work from their home chair, their home office or sometimes even without getting out of bed.

Actually, the trend is so strong, that, according to poll by a consulting firm Accenture Plc., 61% of Canadians prefer a mixed type of work model where they work some days at office and some days at home. Nevertheless, there are certain mental health and labour law issues employees and their bosses need to consider in this situation.

In terms of demographics, 74% of young Generation Z employees like the idea of working with colleagues in office. Younger millennials in large cities also noted they were more productive with onsite work.

Meanwhile, Generation X and older millennial prefer remote work with flexible options. As a rule, they live in rural settings.

And yet, the demographics are not always the main factor determining working preferences. Most of it depends on whether employees feel that they have the necessary resources to address their worries, for instance, mental health issues or a supportive leader presence. During the pandemic, mental health has become a more vivid issue at work.

“Canadians have adjusted and have quickly become productive in any place,” – says Janet Krstevski from Accenture Plc. “But still, the state of Canadians’ mental health is concerning and we need to improve the future of work dialogue to be not just about working location, but we need to address the main drives of the productivity, health and resilience of Canadian employees.”

Another issue the report sheds light on is that Canadians need more clarity from their employers about plans to return to the office. According to the survey, at least one quarter of respondents are not aware of the plan’s details, while 12% don’t think their employers have the plan at all. Such results bring more anxiety concerning what to expect in the coming months.

Meanwhile, we can see headlines about large companies expecting to return to offices as soon as this fall.