All the big Canadian banks, one of whom is my employer, recently announced that they would be making their workers come back to office four times a week. Since the tail-end of COVID, most people have been going in only twice a week. While this did not have all the benefits of being fully remote, people were willing to bear it.
However, the announcement for a four-day return-to-office has not gone down very well. Literally no one I have talked to at work is happy about this. It means twice the number of in-office days, twice the commute, twice the childcare expense, twice the transit fare and gas, twice the spending on outside food. This is not to mention the increased congestion on already crowded highways and subway cars.
Internally, the messaging has been that this is worth it because it increases collaboration and productivity. It will do no such thing. In fact, I recently attended a townhall where a senior leader was quite honest about the real reason…corporate real estate! Many big Canadian companies, especially the banks, have investments in office buildings and commercial spaces. While less office days is generally beneficial to workers, it’s not beneficial to corporate landlords and financiers who derive profits and rents from corporate real estate. The senior leader then went on to tie this to the question of tariffs. That, since Canada is being bullied by Trump’s tariffs, “everyone needs to do their part” in propping up this parasitic sector of the Canadian economy and that this is “the patriotic thing to do”.
– Anonymous
