The International Labour Organization found that flexible working hours and the choice to work from home, which were introduced by many firms during the pandemic, can lead to greater productivity and improved work-life balance. The UN agency’s report analyzed work schedules and its effect on work-life balance from 160 countries’ national surveys using 2019 as a benchmark year. (The Logic)

Talking point: Nearly 30 per cent of Canadian Gen Z and millennials look for employers offering flexible work schedules, a recent Leger poll found. And an April 2022 survey of The Logic’s subscribers found that two-thirds of respondents don’t expect to return to the office full time. Last month, another subscriber survey found that almost a quarter of readers ranked workload as a top stress source, particularly among those who worked in hybrid environments, signalling fatigue for the first full year back in the office. The ILO study cited a Statistics Canada report that found flexible working arrangements were primarily aimed at parents, but warned that it could lead to gender imbalances.