80 per cent of Canadians would seek new job if forced back to office, survey finds

Canadian remote workers are ready to quit if forced back to the office full time.

The results of an online survey asked Canadians working remotely about their feelings regarding returning to the office full-time. The survey, released Tuesday by Hardbacon, a personal finance application, revealed that more than 80 per cent of Canadian remote workers would quit their job and look for a new one if their employer asked them to return to the office five days a week.

“You’re looking at a significant out of pocket expense for five days a week, going into the office,” says Hardbacon editor-in-chief, Stefani Balinsky.

“What may have been born out of necessity is now—you could call it a perk; you could call it work life balance,” Balinsky told CTV News Ottawa.

According to the survey, there is one clear reason why Canadian employees do not want to return to the office full-time: unnecessary expenses.

“On average, respondents estimate an average daily spend of $26 in out-of-pocket expenses related to going to the office. Annualized, this cost amounts to $6,760 per employee, based on a year of 260 working days,” according to Hardbacon.

For Barrhaven resident Samantha Sjodin, working from home means not commuting,

“I went from commuting to Orléans from Barrhaven every single day, and I would never want to have that nightmare again.”

Sjodin says she now works for a Vancouver company, fully remotely. She saves on gas, time, and other costs related to going into an office.

“And then you get the obvious, you know, like you’re more likely to eat out at lunch; you’re more likely to go out after hours, it just added up. I’ve noticed a significant increase in my bank account just not doing those things.”

For her, the survey results aren’t surprising.

“Honestly, I’m not surprised; we’re in a completely different world now.”

WORKING FROM HOME'S IMPACT ON DOWNTOWN OTTAWA

Working from home has had an impact on businesses in the downtown.

“Many businesses are closed because they couldn’t survive,” Gosia Jaworski of Euro Bistro 360 on Laurier Ave W., tells CTV News Ottawa.

“Ottawa is a ghost town. Like, how is (it) possible that the downtown of a Capital city is empty?” says Jaworski, “Now it was supposed to be better, but it’s not. Not yet.”

DOWNTOWN OTTAWA REVITALIZATION TASKFORCE

The federal government and the city have a taskforce to explore options.

“The aim of this taskforce is to have some good ideas ready, so that we can work with different levels of government and ensure that there’s the appropriate attention and investment in Downtown Ottawa,” said Ottawa Centre Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi.