ADP Canada’s Workplace Insights series continues to explore the impact of COVID-19 on Canadian workplaces and the Canadian economy’s reshaped workforce. While previous surveys explored employee health and safety and employer readiness and response, the third, and most recent survey, focused on the implications of COVID-19 on Canadians working remotely.

The survey, conducted by Angus Reid on behalf of ADP Canada, showed that most remote workers (74%) say their manager has clearly communicated expectations around remote work. Although respondents say many employers have been clear on expectations, they are split on how they feel about the “new normal” and highlighted some of the key challenges regarding remote work.

The most common challenge reported by remote workers across Canada was not feeling connected to their colleagues, with more than half (57%) expressing this sentiment. Another challenge identified was difficulty staying focused because of too many distractions. This sentiment was particularly common among younger employees, with 51 per cent of workers aged 18 to 34 saying they find it difficult to focus while working from home.

Emotions were mixed regarding another challenge related to remote work: stress. While 38 per cent of workers said their stress levels remained the same, 34 per cent said their stress had increased and 28 per cent said it had decreased. Women were more likely to feel this way, with 38 per cent of women reporting an increase in stress levels, compared to only 29 per cent for their male counterparts. Results also differed across the country. Workers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba reported the highest increase of stress due to working remotely – a full 20 per cent more than the national average (54% vs 34%).

Other key findings on the challenges of remote work were:

• Roughly one quarter of remote workers reported having difficulty taking breaks because they were too busy (27%) and reported struggling with managing their mental health (24%);
• One in five (22%) have trouble managing their physical health and wellness. This sentiment was especially common in Atlantic Canada, where 34 per cent of participants said this was a key challenge.
• For those with children at home, 16 per cent said it was difficult balancing childcare and their work; and
• Nearly one in five (18%) reported facing no challenges working remotely.

The findings showed that roughly one half of remote workers feel their productivity, quality and hours
of work has stayed the same since the transition to working remotely. Furthermore, approximately onein-
five thought their productivity, quality of work and work hours had increased while one quarter to a
third thought these three measures had decreased. This trend was shown across all ages and genders.
Interestingly, Canadians working from home were evenly split when it comes to the future of remote
work, with 44 per cent reporting they would prefer to work remotely long term and 45 per cent saying
they look forward to returning to the office.