An accounting office manager at the MRC in Bonaventure, Gaspey, unable to find an accounting technician in her part of the country, just rented one from the Saint-Michel neighborhood of Montreal.
“In the area, there has been no interaction. To no avail,” said Diane Beausoleil, owner of the Service Multi-Disciplinaire, located in the village of Kaplan, Gaspeze.
Unable to find an accounting technician in her area for weeks as tax season approaches, she decides to take on the bull by advertising her job offer throughout Quebec.
“We received about thirty resumes, three of which were interesting. We had some at the Laurentians, in Montreal and at Longueuil,”
Even if you breathed a sigh of relief today after finding the rare pearl in February, in Montreal, Diane Beausoleil finds herself with hundreds of extra dollars to pay each month to welcome it.
“I have to invest in Office 365 with Teams. I need to pay more monthly installments for other third-party software to be able to do the work remotely.”
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Almost 850 kilometers away, a new employee since February, Julie Levasseur, sees nothing but the good in her life.
“This is my business,” she says over the phone.
No more traffic jams, no more childcare costs, no more stress…the accounting technician loves working with Diane, who is accommodating. She enjoys her new quality of life every day, which allows her to breathe a little.
“I don’t get road work headaches in the morning. I don’t pay for after-school care. I save $200 a month on gas,” she breathes.
However, even if these remote work jobs can make candidates smile, that’s another story for SME bosses, according to François Vincent, vice president of Quebec at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
“How are we going to make them live, the districts, if all the workers are at a distance? He asks himself aloud.
“For the vitality of the regions, it takes the people,” he pleads.
negative effects
at registerFrancois Vincent waves a study on the impact of remote work on companies conducted at the beginning of the pandemic, which paints a rather bleak picture of the new reality of remote workers.
Reduced productivity (34%), connectivity (36%), team cohesion (53%)…not to mention the increased cost of office equipment (39%), telecommuting can hurt businesses, according to CFIB.
The lack of meetings (49%), the difficulty of management (47%) and employees’ access to high-speed connectivity (31%) are all concerns of superiors.
CFIB’s François Vincent concludes that “there is a limit to having to recruit 100% remotely”.
♦ last December, The magazine had told the story of Monique L. fortinAn accountant from Manywaki denounced the lack of accountants in the region.
Sophie Laurent is a contributor to Vaughantoday.ca, covering a wide range of topics including local news, politics, business, technology, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle. She focuses on delivering clear, balanced reporting that helps readers stay informed about current events and issues that matter to their communities. Sophie is committed to presenting accurate information, practical insights, and relevant stories in a straightforward and reader-friendly manner, making complex topics accessible to a broad audience.