But the delay gave the company some time to consider how that space should be used. “We were able to really think about that ‘next normal,’” said Jayara Darras, the firm’s culture and people leader, which at Deloitte includes supporting hybrid work arrangements. Currently, about one-fifth of Deloitte’s regional workforce of 1,500 is in the building on a typical business day. Deloitte Canada’s local staff moved to the Deloitte Summit Tower in Vancouver in June, a process the company’s culture and people leader says was delayed by the pandemic. But the delay gave the company time to think about how it wanted to use the space there. (Ben Nelms/CBC) “We hit about 275,300 people [on a given day]Darras said, noting that fewer people choose to come on Mondays and Fridays. He predicts that number will increase this fall, but also doesn’t expect Deloitte to force a comeback. The pandemic has upended long-standing office routines, prompting organizations to rethink how work can be done and adopt more flexible arrangements. More people are being encouraged to physically return to work this fall, but it doesn’t look like the world of work will return to its pre-pandemic state. WATCHES | Demand for flexibility, even when returning to the office:
Employees want flexibility with back-to-the-office plans
With pandemic restrictions easing across Canada, companies are preparing to welcome employees back to the office. But many are pushing back and asking for flexible working arrangements, while others can’t wait to go back to the office. “Working from home is clearly here to stay,” Nicholas Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University who studies the impact of the expanding adoption of more flexible work, said by email.
Tentative start of a climb?
Colliers Canada manages more than 60 million square feet of commercial real estate across the country — with office space accounting for more than half of that footprint. Amy Vuong, vice-president of property management services strategy for Colliers Canada, says many companies began to see people return to the office on a voluntary basis during the spring — and her organization is hearing that some companies are now doing so. office. (Submitted by Amy Vuong) Amy Vuong, vice-president of property management services strategy for Colliers Canada, said the company conducted regular surveys of its tenants throughout the pandemic. This year, between spring and autumn, Vuong said Colliers had seen “a 4 percent increase in the number of companies that said they were moving full-time” to the office – with staff going five days a week – with that number moves from 33 to 37 percent. That may seem like a tentative gain, but Vuong said it could be indicative of a larger trend. “Many companies have released theirs [return-to-office] policies on a voluntary basis this spring,” said Vuong. “We are hearing that companies are potentially looking at removing this voluntary option as we move into the fall.”
Cities and commuters
In Toronto, many offices remain unused nearly 30 months into the COVID-19 era. The Strategic Regional Research Alliance (SRRA), an independent research group, tracks office occupancy levels in Canada’s most populous city. The Strategic Regional Research Alliance estimates that the rate of people coming to the office in Toronto is, as of last month, less than 30 percent of its pre-COVID equivalent. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) He estimates that the percentage of people heading to these spaces — as in his most recent photo from mid-August — is still less than 30 percent of its pre-pandemic equivalent. SRRA co-founder Iain Dobson expects employers will want to see more people in the office this autumn if possible. “We had so many false starts,” Dobson told CBC News in a phone interview. The Toronto Transit Commission expects a 10 to 15 per cent jump in ridership this fall after students go back to school and “more people go back to office work.” A file photo shows the exterior of Montreal’s Côte-Vertu metro station. The Société de transport de Montréal expects to see more people commuting this fall as students go back to school and more people return to the office. (CBC/Radio-Canada) This reflects what the Société de transport de Montreal expects. “We are currently at 65 percent of the pre-pandemic level and expect to reach 70 to 80 percent this fall, primarily due to the return of workers and students,” STM spokeswoman Amelie Rezzi said in an email.
Many employees will be in the office “more often” than now
Some notable large employers in Canada are pushing to bring more people into the workplace this fall — although depending on their new work arrangements, those workers may not be in the office every day. Royal Bank of Canada, which has more than 60,000 employees based in Canada, is looking to see leaders and staff in the office “more often” — with president and CEO Dave McKay arguing that people thrive on collaboration. Royal Bank of Canada has more than 60,000 employees based in Canada. The company’s chairman and chief executive have said the organization wants to see its teams spend “more time” in the office. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) “We know that not all roles or teams are the same, and many types of work can be done productively at home or off-site,” McKay wrote in a recent LinkedIn post. “At the same time, there’s an energy and spontaneity that comes from interpersonal connection that I don’t think technology can replicate.” At Canadian Tire, corporate staff working in hybrid roles “do not have mandated ‘office days’ or a set number of days that our employees are expected to be in the field,” said Christopher Gray, the company’s vice-president of culture and organizational planning. in a statement sent by email. Canadian Tire corporate staff working in hybrid roles do not have a mandatory number of days they must spend in the office, according to Christopher Gray, the company’s vice-president of culture and organizational planning. (Chris Wattie/Reuters) Even so, Canadian Tire has invested in “new technology, modern amenities and co-working spaces” and believes its employees “will continue to come together more often in person,” he said. The federal government, which employs more than 300,000 public servants, also intends to see more people step inside its facilities — and the Treasury Department of Canada Secretariat says that process has been underway, for various departments, since the spring. In an email, the board said the “Government of Canada is testing new hybrid models with a view to full implementation in the fall,” as public health considerations allow. Unions representing civil servants have expressed concerns about this plan.
“No real excuse”
Greg Phillips, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Servants, said the government hasn’t explained clearly enough why more time is needed in the office — and hasn’t shown there’s a problem with public servants working from home either. “There’s no real excuse,” said Phillips, whose union represents 23,000 members, including government economists, translators and interpreters. Stanford University’s Bloom was part of a larger effort to examine the experiences of people working from home during the pandemic. And the survey points to a future where workers want to maintain the flexibility they’ve grown accustomed to over the past two and a half years. A February 2022 survey of more than 20,000 participants worldwide found that 15 percent of those surveyed would quit their jobs if forced to return to work five days a week. An even higher percentage of Canadians — nearly 22 percent — felt that way. “Canada, like the US, has a highly developed economy with a large number of professional jobs that can [be] it’s done remotely, a highly educated workforce, and a lot of people living long hours away from their work,” Bloom said.
