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It has been more than 500 days since millions of Canadian employees were suddenly forced to work from home due to COVID-19.
Although the pandemic is far from over, some workplaces are beginning to tackle the thorny issue of when and whether to return to the office again—and what people’s working lives will look like, no matter where they work.
CBC News contacted dozens of business leaders across the country and asked them what they think about returning to work.
In the responses from all over Canada, from small non-profit organizations with a handful of employees to technology startups, energy companies, and financial giants with tens of thousands of employees, a sentiment has been echoed time and time again: things will definitely not follow. The way they develop. Previously.
“It won’t be one size fits all,” said Guy Cormier, CEO of Montreal-based financial services giant Desjardins.
Desjardins did not intend to toggle the switch and call everyone who had been in the office back. Instead, the company plans to allow various arrangements. Many people will basically go back to the office full-time, which makes sense if they want, and some former office residents will stay at home forever. Others will adopt the so-called hybrid mode, switching between the two.
“We will adapt together with our employees and ensure that there is a…balance between their lives and work,” Cormyr said.
The big banks have a similar situation. Both TD and CIBC stated that they plan to incorporate more work from home into their businesses from now on.
“Most of our team can work anywhere, productively and complete incredible work. But there are also things that we do best personally and together,” said Sandy Sharman, team leader at CIBC. “The way they work and the future of where they are will blend the best of both worlds.”
“We expect that colleagues will continue to enjoy more work and life flexibility, including remote work and possible mixed options. However, we believe that most roles need some presence in the office to promote collaboration, innovation and enhancement Our culture,” said Kenn Lalonde, chief human resources officer at TD.
Cenovus Energy will adopt a hybrid route, allowing people to work from home two days a week if they want and the work actually allows it.
Sarah Walters, executive vice president of the Calgary-based company, said in an email: “We plan to use a hybrid workplace flexibility model-office employees can work from home for up to two days a week. , As long as the role allows.” “The new model will be implemented in September to coincide with the return of most of our offices, and we will evaluate this approach over time to ensure that it is best suited for our workplace.”
Hybrid approach
Human resource companies know better than most people that it is best to adjust arrangements according to specific circumstances, so this is what they do to their employees. “We need to be flexible to attract and retain some of the top talent in the market,” said Darlene Minatel, ManpowerGroup Canada regional manager.
Marketing agency Brand Momentum will be equally flexible, but they will require employees to show up in Toronto or Montreal offices at least three days a week, said CEO Hesham Shafie.
At the same time, the insurance giant Sun Life Life is open to anything that can get the job done. President Jacques Goulet said: “In terms of time in the office, we did not impose any minimum or maximum.” “In fact, we don’t talk about returning to the office-we are talking about opening up our Office work.”
Celtx, a software company based in St. John’s, said it plans to continue to use the system that best suits its employees — and most importantly, it will roll out slowly no matter what they decide to do. CEO Mark Kennedy said: “We will not do anything suddenly, it will be done through a lot of consultation,” adding that, ultimately, making employees happy is good for the company. “If you have a happy employee, you usually have an efficient employee.”
In fact, if the pandemic is interrupted to teach Canadian business leaders a lesson, it is that there are better ways than they are doing.
Learn a lesson
Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, Celtx employed a large number of remote workers, so the company has certain advantages in making it applicable to everyone. Kennedy said: “In fact, we rely on remote workers to tell people who are used to working in the office what skills they can use.” “We just apply some of these best practices to everyone.”
Although Brand Momentum expects its employees to work in the office for at least a period of time, Shafie stated that they have no intention of forcing employees to return to the office. Far away; he said that working from home actually improves the company’s productivity.
“Because many of us drive for half an hour and go to the office an hour each way. Now they can use it for two hours. [that] Productivity is family and life. So they are happier because of it,” he said. “It’s a transformation.
Ultimately, no company should expect things to return to their previous state-any company that does so may suffer as a result.
Montreal-based marketing company helloDarwin plans to take a hybrid route, where it provides office space for those in need, homework for others, and mix and match for others. CEO Mathieu Plante said that the system worked well during the pandemic, so they have no plans to change it.
He issued a warning to company executives who were eager to return to the office and value face time more than anything else.
“If the employer cannot accommodate his workforce in 2021, then for sure, [they] Will see resignations, people leave the company. “
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