HUMAN RESOURCES AND MANAGEMENT RESEARCH STAFF
In the News: More Companies are Calling People Back to the Office. Many Workers Want to Stay Home
September 5, 2023 ·
Contributed by: Jenna Benchetrit, CBC News
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As soon as her company told employees they would have to return to the office part time, Amanda Nilsson started looking for a new job.
“When they started mandating three days, I knew the writing was on the wall,” said the senior accountant who worked for a Toronto-based real-estate company. She says she felt it would be only a matter of time before three days in the office became four or five.
“I could understand why they were pushing to bring people back in the office,” said Nilsson. “But at the same time I have to do what’s in my best interests as well.”
More companies are asking workers to return to the office — for at least a few days a week — after Labour Day, citing better communication, increased productivity and a stronger company culture for the shift. But workers aren’t convinced.
After years of working from home, employees like Nilsson are pushing back because they say that the option to work remotely affords them a better quality of life.
“And once employees have had an opportunity [to] work from home, they’re going to continue to expect to be allowed to do that in the future.”
“Once a bell has been rung, it cannot be unrung,” said McMaster University human resources and management professor Catherine Connelly.
