More Canadian companies are interested in introducing a work from anywhere (WFA) policy as a new study down south reveals nearly half of U.S. employees have admitted to quiet vacationing.
The study found 48 per cent of American employees have “quiet vacationed” around the July 4th holiday, meaning they’ve switched from their usual WFH location to elsewhere without telling their employers.
Although Canadian workers are also moving to different parts of the world while staying productive, they’re hesitant to tell employers about their plans, Courtney Lee, vice president of People at HR platform Humi, told Now Toronto.
“Even credible employees may feel apprehension that their manager or peers will assume they’re less productive if they’re working from a location that isn’t their home office…Employees sometimes take the ‘ask for forgiveness, not permission’ approach, believing it may be frowned upon or the request declined if they outright ask,” Humi said.
There’s also the issue of taxes, where employees might not disclose if they’re working from a higher tax location than their official home offices.
However, Lee explains a WFA policy could help address this issue by having employees and employers both be diligent with location tracking.
“Ensure the policy is clear that employees are responsible for any personal tax implications incurred by working from a location outside their designated home office and securing work authorization requirements in countries they choose to work from,” she said.
Canadian WFA policy should also include if employees are responsible for funding their own access to wifi, accommodation costs, and the impact of timezones for work hours, according to Lee.
