COVID-19 changes work arrangements in Canada

OTTAWA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially altered the work arrangements of thousands of workers in Canada.

At the beginning of 2021, 32 percent of Canadian employees aged 15 to 69 worked most of their hours from home, compared with 4 percent in 2016, Statistics Canada said Thursday.

The Labour Force Survey by Statistics Canada shows that 3.1 million Canadians were working from home temporarily in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as of February 2021.

Canadian workers and their employers have now made intensive use of telework for several months.

Of all new teleworkers, 90 percent reported being at least as productive at home as they were previously at their usual place of work.

Fifty-eight percent reported accomplishing about the same amount of work per hour, while roughly 32 percent reported accomplishing more work per hour. The remaining 10 percent said that they accomplished less work per hour while working at home than they did previously at their usual place of work.

The likelihood of accomplishing more work per hour varied across industries. Some 41 percent of teleworkers of public administration and 45 percent of teleworkers of health care and social assistance reported doing more work per hour. In contrast, the corresponding percentage amounted to 31 percent in goods-producing industries.

Regardless of age, educational attainment, marital status, industry, occupation, and whether or not they have children, men and women tended to report to a similar extent being at least as productive at home as they were in the past at their usual place of work.

While the vast majority of new teleworkers reported being at least as productive at home as they were in the past, several of them ended up working longer hours per day at home than they did at their usual place of work.

Overall, 35 percent of all new teleworkers reported working longer hours. In contrast, 3 percent of all new teleworkers reported working shorter hours. The degree to which these longer hours affect family-work balance and the extent to which they will persist once the COVID-19 pandemic is over remain to be seen.

Employees who reported accomplishing less work per hour while working from home identified different barriers to productivity.

About one in five of those who reported being less productive than prior to the pandemic reported a lack of interaction with co-workers as the main reason why they accomplished less work per hour. Nearly 20 percent reported having to care for children or other family members.

Overall, 80 percent of new teleworkers indicated that they would like to work at least half of their hours from home once the pandemic is over.