Staying out of office

Offices are back up and running, but employers are having trouble actually filling them with employees… who remain perfectly fine at home thank you very much. 

Why it matters: Two short years have completely changed how and where we work, but if employers can’t keep up with the changing scene, they could start to see retention problems. 

• WFH clauses are becoming a key part of labour negotiations, as unions fight for their members to have more leverage in deciding what their workplace looks like. 

Why it’s happening: The perks of WFH include peace and quiet to work (for those who live alone), no workplace irritants (read: friends), and in many cases, an uptick in mental health. 

• 79% of men and 77% of women who worked at home during the pandemic preferred it ‘a lot’ more than in the office, per a Future Skills Centre (FSC) survey. 

Even for workers in fun offices, things like rock climbing walls and Coke-float-making robots (okay, we made that one up) are increasingly seen as distractions, rather than perks.

Yes, but: It’s still unclear if WFH is any better than getting stuff done in the office, as Canadian labour productivity fell for the seventh straight quarter in the first quarter of 2022. 

Bottom line: Many companies will have to balance what could become a guaranteed right to work from home while enhancing work environments for those wanting to work IRL.