[afransen]

He told us at lunch that the current rumor is that they will require us in office 2 days a week, one of which has to be at our Brampton office so the CEO can do a weekly Town Hall.

I guess my first question at this town hall should be why do we need to be in the office at all when the only time we meet our yearly goals and got bonuses was while we worked from home.

A weekly townhall with the CEO sounds like an incredible waste of time.

 

[yrt+viva=1system]

I came across this and had me thinking about why Toronto seems be slower for returning to the office. What is driving some cities to have stronger return to the office?

https://beta.ctvnews.ca/local/toronto/2023/2/4/1_6259963.amp.html

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I came across this and had me thinking about why Toronto seems be slower for returning to the office. What is driving some cities to have stronger return to the office?

https://beta.ctvnews.ca/local/toronto/2023/2/4/1_6259963.amp.html

Nature of the employers - I think banks, FIRE, IT and government/quasi-government are all relatively slow in return to office (and most have at least partial WFH days).

AoD

 

[Northern Light]

I came across this and had me thinking about why Toronto seems be slower for returning to the office. What is driving some cities to have stronger return to the office?

https://beta.ctvnews.ca/local/toronto/2023/2/4/1_6259963.amp.html

The fact that Toronto is a tech-giant and that the worst performing City for return-to-the-office is San Francisco may give some hint of an answer.

@AlvinofDiaspar is also correct to note government's relatively slow return (it is happening, but not at 5 days per week at this point); the banks are definitely ramping up now, but that has happened slowly.

 

[Videodrome]

I don't even have my own desk at the office now. Usually now, I only go in for staff events every few months and just do work at home after.

 

[Northern Light]

I did share my POV w/folks here than return-to-the-office would be stepped up substantially over the status quo. Here's that shoe dropping:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-rbc-employees-hybrid-office-work/ (paywalled at time of posting)

But, from the above:

**

**

*********

Expect more similar announcements fairly soon.

Note to GO Transit especially, but also TTC, not a great moment for service reductions!

 

[picard102]

Ya, we're going back to 2 days a week because "we lost something" and not because our US overlords who can't get their own shit together want to dictate things.
We had our best year last year so they know they can't say it's productivity based.

We also all have to go to the Brampton office, including those of us from the Downtown office.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I don't even have my own desk at the office now. Usually now, I only go in for staff events every few months and just do work at home after.

At my first office job in 1997 most had private offices and a few cubes. Everyone had an assigned space. I don’t get the appeal of hot desking.

 

[afransen]

At my first office job in 1997 most had private offices and a few cubes. Everyone had an assigned space. I don’t get the appeal of hot desking.

Cheaper for our corporate overlords. They care not a fig that it is impossible to achieve focus work at that density, with most people regularly taking conference calls at their desks.

My office looks a lot like this. It is awful.

Fr
from: https://opensourcedworkplace.com/ne...oyees-should-do-to-have-less-hot-desk-anxiety

 

[Admiral Beez]

Cheaper for our corporate overlords. They care not a fig that it is impossible to achieve focus work at that density, with most people regularly taking conference calls at their desks.

My office looks a lot like this. It is awful.

Fr
from: https://opensourcedworkplace.com/ne...oyees-should-do-to-have-less-hot-desk-anxiety

I left the work from office realm before hot desks, but I did work in cube farms.

 

[Bayer]

The last time I was on salary, 35 years ago, I had a real office; I cannot imagine any work requiring serious thought being performed adequately in a cubicle or, worse, at a random hot desk. (By the way, I'm curious as to how often people at those hot desks have to explain to others where they are.)

Sometimes I miss the excitement I felt when I worked in the Financial District - even though it was just me and my business partner. But that excitement wasn't really about the work; it was the hustle and bustle, the conversations, the lunches in good restaurants.

But times change and the concept of bringing office workers from far and wide to a central location is obsolete. 40% of the building at 25 Adelaide East sits empty, including my old office, 7 months after the end of my lease.

 

[nfitz]

We also all have to go to the Brampton office, including those of us from the Downtown office.

If it's not your home office, they must pay you mileage or travel costs, and pay your wages for the travel time.

Though if it's a transfer, I'd think it would be constructive dismissal.

 

[picard102]

If it's not your home office, they must pay you mileage or travel costs, and pay your wages for the travel time.

Though if it's a transfer, I'd think it would be constructive dismissal.

I'm hoping I can make the CD case. But I'm sure they'll say that our home office was always the Brampton one. I just need to trick them into saying otherwise first.

 

[nfitz]

I'm hoping I can make the CD case. But I'm sure they'll say that our home office was always the Brampton one. I just need to trick them into saying otherwise first.

There's normally be something in the original letter of employment.

 

[picard102]

There's normally be something in the original letter of employment.

The issue is we all started in the Brampton office, they opened the downtown office latter and we moved there.
They had us still come into Brampton once a week, but just before the pandemic they had us empty out our Brampton desks so they could give them to someone else and were moving us into a storage room. So our only real desks IMO were downtown at that point.