Canadian workers are more likely than any of their global counterparts to believe that flex working practices can help reduce workplace stress, according to a global study of workplace stress by Regus, a global provider of workplace solutions.
The 2012 survey commissioned by Regus canvassed the opinions of more than 16,000 workers globally. Forty-eight per cent of Canadian workers reported that their stress levels “have risen in the past year.”
For Canadian workers, the major stressors in the workplace included their job (63%), their finances (50%) and to a lesser degree their customers or their clients (35%).
The Regus study found that 73% of Canadian respondents believe flexible workplace practices offer a way to reduce stress. This was 10% above the global average of respondents who believed the same.
Flexible working is more likely to be seen as a stress reducer in countries where longer travel distances are common due to landscape configuration such as Australia and Canada, the study noted.
“Workers are clearly pointing out to businesses that being able to choose when and where they work would help them to de-stress,” the study found. “Of course flexible working hours and locations could help employees avoid lengthy commutes, sometimes dangerous roads and allow them to work from more stimulating alternative locations, but it is also thought to be particularly beneficial for improving work-life balance as it empowers staff to manage work and personal duties more fluidly.”
Interestingly, while many Canadian respondents agreed that flex work practices would reduce stress, they scored around the global averages when it came to saying flex work time was more “family friendly” (59%) and “lower cost than fixed location working” (41%).
