More young people prefer to work in-person, hybrid work: UW study

Young Canadians prefer in-person and hybrid work environments according to early findings in a survey released out of the University of Waterloo.

That study looked to 15 to 25-year-olds and their roles in their communities. Managing Director of the Youth and Innovation Project, Ilona Dougherty, was on The Mike Farwell Show on Tuesday to chat about what they learned.

“There are a lot of stereotypes about young people (…) about always being stuck to their phones, just wanting to be on screens all the time: But it turns out when it comes to work, they actually want to see other humans,” said Dougherty.

Results gathered by the Youth and Innovation Project showed that 37 per cent of 15 to 19-year old Canadians preferred to work entirely in-person, which the study stated is a higher percentage than any other age group measured.

“Some of our theories are that young people really didn’t like online schooling during the pandemic and a lot of young people missed out on graduation and missed out on that experience of being in the dorms, meeting new friends at university so now they want that social experience.”

The study also found that 70 per cent of those surveyed between ages 20 to 24 had a preference for hybrid work “at a significantly higher percentage than those older than 24 years of age or younger than 20 years of age.”

Dougherty added that they wanted to see how they can help young Canadians thrive at an important moment in their life.

“So, this might actually be something broader that’s not just related to the pandemic, which is young people understand to really learn how to be a good employee, they need to be in the office.”

They plan to run their study of young Canadians until 2028 with more results expected to be released in the future.

Currently, they are sending out surveys to over 25,000 young people who opted into the study across the country.