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Go Figure: Counting the ways work in B.C. may never be the same post-pandemic

We look at some of the ways work in B.C. may never be the same post-COVID.

By Melissa Edwards /

As a mostly vaccinated labour force casts its unsure eye over dust-covered cubicles, we look at the changes COVID has brought to working for a living

76.8% of British Columbians who shifted to remote work during the pandemic want to keep working at least half of their hours from home

28% said they worked longer hours

More than 1/4 of Canadian professionals say they’re more likely to want to work for an organization that shares their personal values than they were before the pandemic  

Share of B.C. businesses likely or very likely to make pandemic staffing measures permanent:

Online training: 27%
Optional telework: 14.3%
Required telework: 7.4%
Shift work for increased distancing: 10.6%
Reduced office/workspace size: 8.1%
Increased office/workspace size: 13.4%

In an April 2021 poll, 41% of employed British Columbians said they have the perfect work-life balance, +8 points from 2019

Almost 1/2 of British Columbians who worked from home during the pandemic would consider switching jobs to be able to continue remote work

68% of Canadians think there should be a required vaccine passport for people re-entering the workplace

When asked whom they planned to hug first after restrictions listed, only 1% of Canadians listed a co-worker

In a June survey, British Columbians were the most likely in Canada to be anxious about life returning back to normal, at 62%

10x more women than men have experienced long-term job loss in Canada since the start of the pandemic

60% of the B.C. workforce is at medium to high likelihood of having their job impacted by automation in the next 20 years

Change in type of employment in Canada, 1987–2018:

Managerial, professional, technical  +31.4%
Service  +13.2%
Sales, clerical, administrative  –9.1%
Production, craft, repair, operations  –25.3%

50% of employed British Columbians expect an increase in virtual meetings at their companies after the pandemic as compared to before

In an April Stanford study, women were more than 2x as likely as men to experience severe fatigue after a Zoom meeting

Haptic, holographic “collaborative telepresence” technology will be transforming the work world in just 3-5 years, according to Scientific American

Sources: Statistics Canada, Research Co., Leger Marketing, Narrative Research, Ipsos, RBC, BC Federation of Labour, Stanford University, Scientific American