TORONTO — Recent polling from Statistics Canada indicates that people who began working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic are just as productive as they were in the workplace, but a significant portion are working longer hours.
The StatCan study found that 90 per cent of new teleworkers reported they complete just as much work, if not more work, per hour compared to their time in the workplace.
Among those who reported less productivity while working from home, preliminary data showed the biggest factors included lack of interaction with colleagues, child care, trouble accessing work-related information, additional steps to get things done, a poor work space and poor internet speeds.
“Since these numbers are based on a relatively small sample, they are best interpreted as providing preliminary—rather than definitive—evidence regarding the barriers to productivity faced by new teleworkers,” the study noted.
The results of the latest study echo those from recent research out of the United States that found 84.7 per cent of people working from home due to COVID-19 reported at least the same levels of productivity, with 41.2 per cent of respondents reporting increased efficiency.
When it came to working hours, 35 per cent of Canadians reported working longer hours while working from home, compared to just three per cent who reported their work weeks had shortened in the pandemic.
New teleworkers also appear to enjoy working from home. The research found that 80 per cent of teleworkers would like to work at least half of their hours from home once the pandemic is over, with 15 per cent responding that they would like to work from home permanently.
The big exception to this notion comes from teachers, 54 per cent of whom reported wanting to spend most or all of their work hours outside of their home once the pandemic is over.
According to StatCan, 32 per cent of Canadian employees aged 15 to 69 worked from home most of their schedule by the beginning of 2021. The agency’s Labour Force Survey found that 3.1 million Canadians were working from home temporarily by Feb. 2021.
