“Angry” employees to return to work at the office

After years of teleworking, more and more Canadian employees are forced to return to work at the office full -time – or almost. Rogers and the TD bank have joined a growing number of employers to impose such policies, which arouse workers’ discontent.

Passers -by interviewed at the Union de Toronto station are mainly in favor of telework.

Cherie Lamont, who works as a teacher, insists that If work can be done at home, employees should be allowed to work at home. For her, if the presence in the office has certain advantages, the hybrid model seems to be the ideal compromise.

For his part, Devi Rajkumar, who has to travel daily to Toronto from Alliston, about 70 km from the Queen city, also expressed his wish for a more flexible work model.

[En présentiel]you have the opportunity to work with people, to create a social circle, but, at home, you are in your comfortshe explains.

They are not the only ones: around 60 % of Canadian adults surveyed by the Angus Reid Institute prefer to continue working mainly at home, while 79 % of respondents want to have this option a few days a week.

The figures also show that 51 % of employees who say they have been forced to return to the office more often say they are angry or very angry.

Ope Akanbi, professor at the Metropolitan University of Toronto and specialist in distance working conditions, explains that this preference for telework is understandable.

Workers have learned to integrate work into their lives, rather than trying to bring their lives into a working timeshe underlines.

Annie Boilard, specialist in human resources and president of the Annie network RH is not surprised by the preference widespread for teleworking.

The two most appreciated formulas in Canada are either working 100 % in teleworking or a hybrid formula with teleworkshe says.

Despite the strong opposition of many employees, several major banks-such as Toronto-Dominion (TD), SCOTIA, BMO and the Royal Canada Bank (RBC), whose offices are very close to the station-began to impose a return to the office four days a week this fall. Other large companies, such as Rogers and Starbucks, follow the same trend.

These employers justify their decision by affirming that collaboration in person promotes productivity, innovation and career development.

However, these arguments seem unconvincing for employees.

The pandemic showed us that we could continue to work effectively without being at the office. Companies displayed profits, everything seemed to be normally taking place.

Little appeal for employees

However, Ms. Akanbi believes that employers should not worry too much about this resistance. With the current job market, workers are less likely to leave their jobs because of this policyshe adds. The unemployment rate was 6.9 % in June, according to Statiere Canada data.

Ms. Boilard adds that, for employees, it is often difficult to justify a return to the imposed office.

People have the impression that they have proven themselves, they feel like they have maintained their productivity with telework, so being imposed on the face in face -to -face gives them the impression that they deserve something they deserve.

However, she believes that employees do not really have the means to force companies to grant them the right to telework.

Mackenzie Irwin, lawyer specializing in labor law in Toronto, stresses that the possibility for an employee to defend himself against a return to the office depends on his contract.

And [une permission de télétravail] is written in your contract, it is engraved in marbleshe explains.

However, if the work at a distance is not explicitly planned, the situation becomes more complex.

Ms. Irwin warns that employees refusing to comply with the return to office policies could risk losing their jobs.

However, she adds that it is possible to negotiate certain reasonable accommodation when there are protected reasons, such as health problems or family issues.

With CBC information