Hamster reveals an exclusive study on the effects remote work has on employees and their perception of their employers.
MONTREAL, June 22, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - A total of 47% of Canadian employees are currently working from home (part time or full time) and more than half of them (51%) consider continuing to do so, even after the safety measures have been lifted. With the vaccination campaign continuing and the number of cases decreasing, we cannot help but ponder on the heralded "back to normal", but considering these statistics, can we really say that tomorrow's normal will be the same as 15 months ago?
With the objective of exploring Canadian employees' perception of the effects COVID has had on their work environment as well as their psychological well-being, this new study reveals many interesting statistics on the evolving habits of employees.
"I think it would be unrealistic to believe that the pandemic won't have long term or even a permanent impact on the working world. As the Canadian leader in the workplace supplies industry, we felt that it was important to investigate employees' perception in order to understand the new reality we would soon be facing as an employer. These statistics are giving us important insight to the new reality that Hamster, as well as any other Canadian businesses, are now facing," says Denis Mathieu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Novexco Inc.
Teleworking: Truths and Myths
Of the Canadian teleworkers, 37% claim to be more efficient and 46% say they are as efficient when teleworking at home versus the office. Only 15% say that they are less efficient. Canadian teleworkers explain their increased efficiency by the following factors: fewer distractions (38%), less time spent in commuting between home and office (15%), less waste of time (14%) and more freedom with the ability to control their environment (14%).
This data is especially interesting if we are trying to demystify teleworking perceptions. After all, working remotely was a rising trend well before COVID. It seems like the pandemic simply sped things up.
Satisfaction at work
Good news for Canadian employers: despite the pandemic, employee satisfaction for their work increased to 87% (vs 83% in 2018*).
As Canadian employers, it is important to identify which elements satisfy your employees and which ones do not. According to the study, it appears an employee's work mode has an impact on their satisfaction, motivation and engagement.
Indeed, hybrid employees are the most satisfied (92%) and the most motivated (91%). They are also very engaged in their company (90%). Furthermore, 92% are satisfied with their responsibilities and tasks, 86% feel useful in their work, and close to 4 out of 5 employees have a job that gives them a sense of accomplishment.
In contrast, employees working in the office are twice as unsatisfied (15%) as hybrid employees, and 17% are unmotivated. We also observed that 40% were unsatisfied with their office leaders and 24% with their working conditions (day off, schedule, insurance, collective RRSP...).
While businesses are slowly announcing their post-pandemic plan, the hybrid method seems to be the ideal compromise: a solution that considers both the employee and employers' preferences without having to compromise the employees' efficiency or performance.
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*Extensive Study on the Canadian Workplace conducted by Léger for Hamster (2018). |
Health and well-being in times of COVID
Apart from the environmental impact, an employer should also consider the psychological effects on their employees.
- In the past year, Canadian employees say they have experienced the following mental or physical health issues at work.
- Constant fatigue (25%)
- Permanent feeling of tension (23%)
- Fear, frequent worries, anxiety or panic (22%)
- 71% of Millennials (18-34 years old) say they have experienced one of the above issues in the past year. It is 58% for the Gen X (35-54 years old) and only 37% for Baby-Boomers (55+).
- 60% of employees have had to learn new tasks in the past year.
- 74% are Millennials (18-34 years old).
- 3 out of 4 employees enjoyed the work-life and personal-life balance in the past year.
- 37% had to reorganize their space at home to accommodate remote working.
- 20% claim not having all the necessary equipment to do their job well.
Extensive Study on the Canadian Workplace conducted by Léger for Hamster
The study on the Canadian workplace for Hamster was a web survey conducted by Léger from March 25 to April 2021, with a representative sample of 1,000 Canadians in the labour force, 18 years of age or older, who could speak either French or English. Using Statistics Canada data, the results were weighted by gender, age, region, first language and occupation to make the sample representative of the entire population. For comparative purposes, the maximum margin of error for a sample of 1,000 respondents is ± 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.
Novexco Inc. and Hamster
A Canadian company owned by its merchant members and its leadership, Novexco is a distributor of office supplies, technology products and furniture founded in 1996. Since March 2018, its commercial activities have been grouped under the name Hamster® represented by 109 Eastern-Canadian stores mainly in Quebec, a national sales division, and a transactional website serving Canadian consumers and businesses from its distribution centers in Vancouver BC, Calgary AB, Brampton ON, Laval QC, Montreal QC and Dartmouth NS. The Hamster network represents more than 2,500 employees and Novexco's head office is located in Laval. Since 2019, Novexco has been part of the Platinum Club of the Best Managed Companies in Canada.
SOURCE Novexco Inc.
Audrey-Ann Bergeron, Communications Coordinator, Novexco Inc. / Hamster, [email protected], 514.333.0333 ext. 8373
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