Canadians are changing the way they look at the workplace, and feel it’s time to move away from the traditional definition of what it entails, according to the results of a survey by Rogers Communications.
Technology was high on the respondents’ lists of what is important, and almost half (47%) feel their job satisfaction would increase if their employers provided them with the latest technology tools and services.
As well, one-third of respondents said they would be willing to sacrifice salary and vacation days if they would be able to work remotely.
“It is clear that by making the shift to a more connected workplace, small and large businesses have an opportunity to influence productivity and drive innovation,” said Steve Van Binsbergen, vice-president, business segment at Rogers Communications.
“Businesses that enable employees to work seamlessly across devices and environments stand ready to improve employee morale and deliver better customer experiences.”
The survey found four trends in Canadians’ views of what they want in their workplaces, including:
- flexibility: 59% believe the ability to work from anywhere and flexible hours will become increasingly important when choosing what employer to work for in the future;
- human contact: in addition to being provided with the latest tools and services, 76% said collaborative workplaces that allow face-to-face interaction would make them more productive;
- “bring your own device:” more than half (54%) said they are comfortable using their own smartphones for business purposes while following employer-enforced security policies; and
- devices: rather than using desktop computers, respondents were interested in using laptops (40%), tablets (15%) and smartphones (10%) as their primary work devices.
