Starting in September, Canada’s federal departments are obliged to implement an updated hybrid schedule, which stipulates public servants must be in the office for a minimum of three days a week.
The news was not well received, particularly as just last year the shift to twice a week in-person schedule prompted 155,000 Public Service Alliance of Canada members to walk off the job in a move their union called a “watershed moment.”
Research over the last three years makes it clear that Canadian workers value hybrid models. According to a KPMG workplace survey of over 2,000 Canadians, 77 percent want the flexibility to work in the office or from a remote set-up.
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Canada’s flexibility paradox
In newer research presented by Scoop, it was revealed that compared to other countries, Canadian workers have it pretty good—on paper at least.
The study found that some 84 percent of Canadian firms offer work location flexibility, compared to just 69 percent of. companies in the US.
However, Canadians tend to spend more time physically in the office. In the US, companies require employees to spend an average of 2.5 days a week in the office on average, but in Canada, that figure rises to 2.68 days.
So although more Canadian businesses provide flexible work schedules, they also expect hybrid workers to come in more frequently.
Fully-flexible location working is also rarer at Canadian companies, with just 16 percent of companies offering fully-remote, versus 31 percent of American companies.
Structured hybrid setups, which include minimum days a week, minimum percent of time, specific days and weeks, and minimum and specific days models, is favoured by most Canadian companies (67 percent).
Comparatively, the US preference is more evenly split between structured hybrid (37 percent), employee’s choice or fully remote (32 percent), and full-time in-office (31 percent).
Only three percent of Canadian structured hybrid companies choose specific days or weeks to be in-office, although 96 percent of them have a minimum day component in their model.
Company size matters too. The report found that the smaller a company is, the more flexible it is. Less than 20 percent of Canadian businesses with 500 or more employees are fully flexible, compared to the majority of businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
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Flexibility by sectors
The financial services sector in Canada is identified as the most flexible, with technology came in at second place. The public sector ranked third, and professional services ranked in fourth place. In each of these sectors, at least 92 percent of companies offer workplace flexibility.
Consumer goods, energy, healthcare and biotechnology, construction, and education sectors followed, with 84 percent to 89 percent of companies offering workplace flexibility, according to the study.
American and Canadian companies agree that their workforces need flexibility, but they differ on where and how much.
These varying approaches to hybrid and remote work highlights the ongoing evolution of workplace policies and the need for organizations to strike a balance between employee preferences and operational requirements.
As the landscape continues to shift, it will be important for companies to closely monitor trends and employee sentiment, and to adapt their policies to remain both competitive for talent attraction, and to be supportive of their existing employees for retention.
If this doesn’t sound like the organization you work for, and flexibility is important to you, it could be time to find something new.
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Feature image courtesy Unsplash.
