Only 11% of British Columbians who worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic have returned to the office full time.
Vancouver, BC [October 7, 2002] – Employed British Columbians are still figuring out the new qualms of office life, and more than a third are not particularly thrilled with their current arrangements to work from home, a new Research Co. poll has found
In the online survey of a representative sample, more than three-in-five home workers in British Columbia (63%) say they are happy with their current arrangements to perform their duties away from the office. Similar proportions claim to be working from home more often (19%) or less often (18%) than they would like to.
Just over one-in-ten British Columbians who worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic (11%) have returned to the office full time. About a third (32%) are working from home once or twice a week, while 25% are there three to four times a week and 31% work from home five days a week.
“There is a significant generational divide when it comes to the home office in British Columbia,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “While only 19% of home workers aged 18-to-34 are not commuting at all, the proportion rises to 35% among those aged 35-to-54 and to 47% among those aged 55 and over.”
More than half of British Columbians who worked from home during the pandemic (53%) say they are “very likely” or “moderately likely” to seek a different job if their current company does not allow them to work from home as often as they want. Just under one-in-ten (8%) have already left a position because of this reason.
Two thirds of home workers in British Columbia (66%, +2 since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in January 2022) say they are “very likely” or “moderately likely” to explore the possibility of switching to a different job that can be performed from home in their own metropolitan area.
Smaller proportions of home workers in British Columbia would consider switching to a different job that can be performed from home for a company headquartered in the province (59%, +2) or in a different Canadian province (45%, =).
Compared to January 2022, we see fewer employed British Columbians reporting an increase in virtual staff meetings (28%, -17) and virtual business development (21%, -24) at their workplace.
Conversely, employed British Columbians say that they have seen more in person staff meetings (27%, +13) and more in-person business development (21%, +6) than three months ago.
The change is not as pronounced on business travel, with 15% of employed British Columbians (+5) noticing more trips and 31% (-8) saying they are less common than three months ago. In addition, there is a slight reduction in the amount of virtual communications between offices (27%, -19).
Results are based on an online study conducted from September 28 to September 30, 2022, among 700 adults who work in British Columbia. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in British Columbia. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.7 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490 [e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca