Canadians who “work from home” may not actually be working from their homes — and many of them are not exactly forthcoming about it, a recent survey suggests.

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Forty-three per cent of Canadian remote workers say they have worked from either a cottage or a different city, according to a poll released by Rogers Communications Inc. on July 26.

The survey found two-thirds (66 per cent) of remote workers don’t always disclose to their colleagues when they are working from a different location, with 10 per cent saying they never reveal when they are not at home.

Meanwhile, in order to disguise that they’re working from a different location, nearly half of the respondents said they have used a background filter to make it less obvious that they’re not at home.

“Remote work, especially during the summer, is a very real and relatable scenario for Canadians,” said Rogers chief brand and communications officer, Terrie Tweddle.

The survey of Canadian hybrid workers also found that one-quarter of managers have suspected an employee of disguising their location when working remotely in the last year.

The study, which was conducted in conjunction with one of the telecom’s marketing campaigns, surveyed fully employed Canadians who work remotely at least one day per week. Conducted by Sago research panel on behalf of Rogers, it sampled 1,272 respondents online from July 6 to 15, with a margin of error of of ±3 per cent.

Seventy-eight per cent of Canadians have worked or studied remotely at some point since the country first went into pandemic lockdown more than four years ago.

However, the number of people working exclusively from home has fallen in the last few years as more companies demand employees return to the office.

A study in April by global recruitment agency Robert Walters Inc. found that almost half of white-collar professionals say they’d rather quit than come into the office more.

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