Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) National President Sharon DeSousa at a rally in Ottawa on Sept. 9, 2024, the day federal public servants had to start reporting to the office at least three days a week.
Federal officials pointed to concerns about "public scrutiny" when it mandated workers back into the office, even as workers reported they felt more productive working from home, documents show.Documents prepared by the Treasury Board Secretariat show how little information on productivity officials had when mandating workers back to the office — even as employees reported they felt more productive working from home.
"They had an opportunity here to really modernize the public service and move it forward, and yet here we are talking about cookie cutter approaches, butts in seats, and we're not really talking about services to those who reside in Canada," said Sharon DeSousa, president of PSAC. Option 2 was an "ad hoc" model that was primarily on site but accepted some telework, and option three is "scheduled" office time.At that point, officials were considering three different options, and "flexible first" was off the menu. They could maintain the prescribed two- to three-days-a-week mandate with departmental flexibility, require executives return three days a week or require "enterprise re-adjustment" to three days a week for all workers.
It noted that by fall 2023, 81 per cent of departments were requiring at least two days a week at that time The research suggests the question of productivity is highly subjective — with managers and employees assessing the shift to hybrid work differently. Without explicitly mentioning productivity, an October 2023 update on the first phase of the return to the office noted that "adoption of hybrid work models happened slowly at the same time Canadians experienced delays in service delivery."In a statement, TBS said the return to office policy is meant to build stronger teams and culture, contribute to better service delivery for Canadians and reinforce confidence in the public service.
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