Canadians are in favour of hybrid work amid COVID-19. Can employers force them back?

A new survey shows that a majority of Canadians prefer either working remotely or under a hybrid model splitting time between office and home.

After more than two years of working from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many Canadians are gradually returning to the office as public health measures and restrictions are being eased.

While seeing colleagues in person may come as a welcome change for those tired of Zoom meetings and being stuck at home during lockdowns, many are not so keen to leave the comfort and flexibility of remote work.

According to a new survey by Amazon Business, 43 per cent of Canadian workers said they would likely look for a new job if they are mandated to work from the office on a full-time basis. In that same vein, 55 per cent said they would be less likely to accept a new job if they were required to work full-time from the office.

In fact, only 12 per cent of those surveyed were in favour of physically going into work full-time.

Working remotely (30 per cent) and splitting time between office and home (27 per cent) are preferred scenarios, the survey findings showed.

The online poll was conducted in December and February and included almost 1,600 Canadians who transitioned to remote work at some point during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ottawa resident Greg Quirk has been working from home for the past two years.

Quirk, who joined Kinaxis as a product marketing manager in January and worked remotely at his previous job as well, went into the office for the first time earlier this month.