University of Waterloo

Results of the CRE-MSD Survey on Working from Home During COVID-19 and Transitioning Back to the Office

Overview

CRE-MSD issued a survey for employees working from home during the pandemic, which opened in March 2022 and closed in May 2022. The survey collected information about the design of remote work, health and wellness, as well as workers’ experiences and feelings about transitioning back to in-person office work.

A total of 1,002 participants completed the survey with 79% from Ontario. A summary of the aggregate results are presented below to help guide the future of computer-based work in the office, remote settings and hybrid working arrangements for both employers and employees. An analysis of the results will be provided at a later date.

Full summary of aggregate results (PDF)

Survey results: At a glance

Total respondents: 1002

Time spent in each working arrangement during the pandemic

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Chart data: Time spent in each working arrangement

Question	Never	Less than 3 months	3 -6 months	6 -12 months	More than 12 months	Total
Working from home 100% of the time	81	82	111	134	557	965
Working at the workplace/on-site 100% of the time	659	121	66	66	36	948
Hybrid/blended working arrangement (sometimes at home, sometimes at the workplace/on-site)	265	230	154	110	201	960
Other (please specify)	542	30	22	8	30	632

Description of main role

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Chart data: Main role

Answer	Percentage	Count
Non-managerial employee	52%	521
Supervisor or team lead	14%	139
Manager/Director	24%	243
Owner of the company	2%	21
Consultant	8%	77
Total	100%	1001

Self-reported mental health: Before the pandemic

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Chart data: Mental health before the pandemic

Answer	Percentage	Count
Poor	1%	13
Fair	10%	100
Good	30%	303
Very good	44%	443
Excellent	14%	141
Total	100%	1000

Self-reported mental health: During the pandemic

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Chart data: Mental health during the pandemic

Answer	Percentage	Count
Poor	10%	99
Fair	33%	327
Good	37%	369
Very good	17%	166
Excellent	4%	39
Total	100%	1000

Self-reported physical health: Before the pandemic

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Chart data: Physical health before the pandemic

Answer	Percentage	Count
Poor	1%	9
Fair	10%	101
Good	36%	356
Very good	42%	423
Excellent	11%	111
Total	100%	1000

Self-reported physical health: During the pandemic

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Chart data: Physical health during the pandemic

Answer	Percentage	Count
Poor	8%	80
Fair	26%	260
Good	38%	379
Very good	23%	229
Excellent	5%	52
Total	100%	1000

Self-reported stress levels: Before the pandemic

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Chart data: Stress levels before the pandemic

Answer	Percentage	Count
Not at all stressful	1%	9
Not very stressful	23%	230
Somewhat stressful	58%	582
Very stressful	15%	154
Extremely stressful	3%	26
Total	100%	1001

Self-reported stress levels: During the pandemic

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Chart data: Stress levels during the pandemic

Answer	Percentage	Count
Not at all stressful	0%	5
Not very stressful	8%	79
Somewhat stressful	36%	363
Very stressful	40%	400
Extremely stressful	15%	154
Total	100%	1001

Frequency of using different computing devices when working from home

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Chart data: Computing devices used

Question	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always	Total
Laptop	67	60	59	85	729	1000
Tablet	748	93	87	42	28	998
Desktop computer	637	37	50	97	178	999

Frequency of using external devices when working from home on a laptop

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Chart data: External devices used with a laptop

Question	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always	Total
External keyboard	257	51	45	127	452	932
External mouse	94	33	67	122	617	933
Stand-alone monitor	224	48	77	105	478	932
Laptop riser	445	36	79	89	284	933
Monitor riser/arm	582	28	45	67	207	929
Keyboard platform	701	27	49	38	116	931
Another device	434	10	30	65	99	638

Use of different types of seating when working from home

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Chart data: Types of seating used

Question	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always	Total
Office chair	154	28	65	199	550	996
Kitchen/dining chair	462	203	148	95	87	995
Folding chair	869	52	32	26	13	992
Couch, sofa, or recliner	512	214	171	76	22	995
Bed arm/body cushion support	791	78	67	43	16	995
Other type of seating	608	31	24	28	17	708

Office chair features when working from home

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Chart data: Office chair features

Question	Yes	No	Total
Does your chair have armrests?	7	100	847
Are the armrests adjustable?	609	236	845
Is the seat height adjustable?	785	61	846
Is the backrest angle adjustable?	607	238	845
Is the backrest height adjustable?	507	336	843
Is the seat pan angle adjustable?	515	328	843
Is the seat pan depth adjustable?	444	399	843
Does the backrest angle and seat pan angle lock into a fixed position?	639	203	842
Have you used these adjustable features?	686	156	842
Are you able to adjust your chair to support the way you would like to sit?	666	178	844

Use of lumbar support when sitting in the chair most often used when working from home

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Chart data: Lumbar support

Answer	Percentage	Count
No	30%	303
Yes, lumbar support is built into the chair's backrest	55%	547
Yes, I use an external lumbar support device	6%	58
Yes, I used a rolled towel or pillow	6%	59
Yes, other	1%	13
I'm not sure, I don't know what lumbar support is	2%	19
Total	100%	999

Use of workstations when working from home

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Chart data: Types of workstations used

Question	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always	Total
At a traditional desk	278	61	77	211	370	997
At a make-shift desk (e.g., kitchen table)	427	208	139	100	116	990
At a sit-stand workstation (store bought)	694	33	53	80	131	991
At a sit-stand workstation (make-shift from books, boxes, etc.)	797	71	63	46	13	990
Not on a work surface (e.g., your lap)	604	198	110	60	18	990
Other work surface	600	44	25	15	25	709

Average frequency of posture changes (e.g., changes from a seated posture to standing, walking, etc.) during the workday when working from home

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Chart data: Frequency of posture changes

Answer	Percentage	Count
Never	2%	22
1 to 2 times	10%	100
3 to 4 times	30%	299
5 to 6 times	26%	256
7 to 8 times	13%	128
More than 8 times	20%	195
Total	100%	1000

Average time spent taking active breaks to move during the workday (e.g., stretching, walking, etc.) when working from home

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Chart data: Time spent taking active breaks

Answer	Percentage	Count
Never	4%	43
5 minutes or less	15%	148
6-15 minutes	25%	252
16-30 minutes	26%	263
31-60 minutes	21%	207
More than 60 minutes	9%	87
Total	100%	1000

Frequency of pain experienced in different body regions during the pandemic

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Chart data: Frequency of pain

Question	Never	Rarely	Occasionally	Frequently	Constantly	Total
Neck	131	234	320	246	61	992
Shoulders	172	218	302	248	52	992
Arms	483	242	178	72	16	991
Wrists	368	238	254	96	35	991
Hands	493	224	171	76	27	991
Lower back	145	207	356	209	75	992
Middle back	312	242	273	132	30	989
Upper back	265	222	288	178	38	991
Legs/Ankles/Feet	446	233	197	83	31	990

Severity of pain in each body region during the pandemic

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Chart data: Severity of pain

Question	Mild	Moderate	Severe	Prefer not to say	Total
Neck	405	343	93	8	849
Shoulders	377	344	78	8	807
Arms	339	98	33	6	476
Wrists	365	163	59	10	597
Hands	308	104	41	10	463
Lower back	346	339	138	12	835
Middle back	376	210	53	11	650
Upper back	368	266	58	14	706
Legs/Ankles/Feet	312	147	45	11	515

Work-related injuries/disorders during the pandemic

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Chart data: Work-related injuries/disorders

Answer	Percentage	Count
Yes, physical	10%	98
Yes, mental (cognitive)	10%	104
No	79%	811
Prefer not to say	2%	17
Total	100%	1030

Body region(s) injured (physical injuries)

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Chart data: Body region(s) injured

Answer	Percentage	Count
Neck	16%	37
Shoulders	12%	28
Arms	9%	20
Wrists	14%	33
Hands	7%	16
Lower back	17%	38
Middle back	3%	8
Upper back	8%	18
Legs	6%	13
Ankles	2%	5
Feet	3%	7
Other	3%	7
Total	100%	230

Were any workdays missed because of the injury?

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Chart data: Workdays missed because of injury

Answer	Percentage	Count
Yes	55%	95
No	45%	77
Total	100%	172

Was the injury reported to the employer?

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Chart data: Injury reported to the employer

Answer	Percentage	Count
Yes	59%	102
No	41%	70
Total	100%	172

Preferred frequency of working from home, post-pandemic

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Chart data: Working from home frequency preference

Answer	Percentage	Count
5 days per week	28%	282
4 days per week	18%	181
3 days per week	24%	242
2 days per week	17%	166
1 day per week	8%	76
None (I want to work on-site 100% of the time	5%	53
Total	100%	1000

Reasons influencing the desire to continue working from home, post-pandemic

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Chart data: Reasons for desire to continue working from home

Answer	Percentage	Count
Transportation/commuting time	17%	732
Concerns with COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures in place	9%	377
Private working space	11%	474
Working schedule control/autonomy	15%	644
Quick access to people and resources	2%	104
Less interruptions/distractions	14%	615
Better work-life balance	17%	721
Family responsibilities/child support	7%	301
Reduced contact with the public (non-employees)	5%	195
Lack of mandatory vaccination policy	1%	39
Other	2%	73
Total	100%	4275