Ten years ago, Nola Simon took an unfortunate vacation that gave her an expanded view of the future.
She then participates in a pilot project at her workplace that allows participants to work from home part of the time.
An injury to her leg left her unable to drive for a while, forcing her to do all her work at home.
“In fact, I was the only person in the whole company who worked [at home] five days a week, “said Simon, a consultant based in Keswick, Ont., who works with the hybrid and remote business.
Flexible work will later become the norm for Simon, as it did for millions of Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, a growing number of workers are facing a change in their working conditions as the removal of pandemic restrictions allows them to return to the office.
At the same time, they are coping with the impact of inflation, which makes this return more expensive.
Sima Sajadiani, an assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, says organizations need to think carefully about their plans to bring staff back to work. (Submitted by Sima Sajadiani)
Experts say employers need to think carefully about what they can do to support their office workers if they want to keep their services in the job market, where many people are used to working more independently and striving to keep up. with increasing living costs.
“Organizations need these workers more than ever,” said Sima Sajadiani, an assistant professor in organizational behavior and human resources at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.
“They have to take care of the organizational commitment, they have to take care of keeping their best talents.”
Gradual change
In March, just over a fifth of Canadian workers reported doing most of their work from home, according to the latest Canadian Statistics workforce survey.
That number is close to a quarter of workers as of January.
Last week, a passenger passed through TransLink’s charging port at Vancouver’s Waterfront Station. Eddie Ng, Professor of Justice and Business Inclusion at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., Says many people who have worked from home for a long time during the pandemic do not want to travel to work. (Ben Nelms / CBC)
Eddie Ng, a Smith and Professor of Equity and Business Inclusion at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., Said the migration back to work seemed “slower than employers had hoped”.
He sees a number of reasons for this, including concerns about a lasting pandemic, as well as family challenges that are more difficult to deal with when working outside the home.
There is also the fact that many workers are happy to adhere to the status quo of the pandemic era.
“People just aren’t looking forward to going back to a routine that requires more effort to get to work,” Ng said in an email.
However, there are those who are not against the change of environment and life, including travel to work.
Ed Jay from Edmonton has been returning to the office since last September, after a year and a half of work from home.
A masked office worker goes to work in downtown Toronto earlier this month. (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
The IT manager said he was happy to make the change.
“There was no division between work and home,” Jay said.
Higher travel costs to work
For Jay, driving to work costs more than before, but the increase in gasoline prices is manageable for now.
“It wasn’t scandalous,” said Jay, who spends half an hour driving to work every day.
Ed Jay from Edmonton drives about half an hour to work. He says while gas prices are rising, the increase has so far been manageable for his own travel expenses. (David Bayer / CBC)
Prior to the pandemic, Aime Terio of Hammonds Plains, NS, spent twice as much traveling to and from Halifax.
But then the petrol cost much less and she didn’t pay $ 90 to refuel the Subaru Crosstrek, as was the case during a recent trip to the pumps.
Terio said she was worried about how much it would cost to return to work, but the change in employment means she will travel less than before. So now she spends $ 20 a week to take transit on the days she goes to the office.
“I was able to find a new job in my organization, which allowed me to work from home for more days than I expected,” said Terio, who now works as a training coordinator, by email.
Back in Ontario, Nola Simon can do her consulting work from home, but that doesn’t mean her household is protected from the higher cost of going to work.
This is because her husband is a contractor who has to drive to work.
Nola Simon of Keswick, Ont., North of Toronto, is consulting with business on hybrid and remote work. (Submitted by Nola Simon)
Simon said he believes that the wider impact of inflation on households is overlooked in the job return conversation.
“It’s not just the person who happens to work for the company who returns to it [the] office, “she said.
“Employers need to keep in mind that there is an impact on household budgets and employees will decide what will actually work best for the whole family.”
Eddie Ng of Queen’s University said employers are under pressure to help employees address these concerns.
This includes requests for support for “day care, transport or transport services”, food, added compensation for “labor costs”, he said, in addition to ensuring that workers have a safe workplace to return to.
Keeping workers happy
In Canada’s most populous province, the Ministry of Labor believes that organizations need to do more to ensure that their employees are satisfied with their work arrangements and compensation.
“To attract the best workers, businesses need to be willing to offer higher wages and consider benefits (such as working from home) to keep them,” Ontario Labor Secretary Monte McNaughton told CBC News in a statement. via e-mail.
Ontario Labor Secretary Monte McNaughton, speaking at a news conference in Toronto last year, said businesses should be prepared to raise wages and consider offering bonuses to employees to attract the best talent. (Chris Young / Canadian Press)
Ahead of the June election, Ontario’s progressive Conservative government is highlighting efforts to improve working conditions for workers.
UBC’s Sima Sajadiani said it was clear that many companies were able to pay more to their workers – and it was in their best interest.
“They can increase compensation and in return save the cost of replacing people who leave,” she said.
“They will improve the well-being of their employees, improve their organizational commitment and all the benefits that come with [that]”
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