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Almost one in five (19 per cent) employees currently working from home said they’d consider quitting immediately if their employer demanded they return to the office full time, according to a new survey by the Angus Reid Institute.

More than a third (39 per cent) said they’d head back to the office without much issue, while 25 per cent said they’d go back begrudgingly and likely start looking for another job. Half (50 per cent) of respondents aged 18 to 34, particularly men, said they’re likely to reconsider their employment if required to work from an office.

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Meanwhile, close to half (44 per cent) of Canadians currently working from home said they’d prefer a mix of telecommuting and office-based work. And 29 per cent of respondents would like to continue remote working indefinitely, while 27 per cent would prefer to return primarily to the office. More than half (53 per cent) of Canadian households surveyed had someone working from home over the past year.

While 71 per cent of respondents said their productivity at home was “good” or “great,” 50 per cent of workers aged 18 to 24 said their productivity was “awful” or “challenging” and 61 per cent said their mental state has been “good” or “great.” However, 21 per cent said the social aspect of remote working is “terrible,” while another 45 per cent said it was “challenging.”

Read: Bank of Canada minting hybrid work model post-pandemic