By Pepper Parr
October 1st, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Has the change to having staff return to the office begun?
Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy just became the latest high-profile boss to insist that workers in the head office return to the their desks five days a week, most weeks (with exceptions for problems at home, work travel and the occasional need to work with zero distractions).
This is just a rendering of the new look of the ground floor of City Hall. During the past three months on those occasions the Gazette has been at city hall it has been close to empty except for the few people city at desks in the Service area.
The announcement sparked shock and outrage among many Amazon employees — and a wider fear that this could herald a rethink of remote work at other companies. In reality, it does signal a turning point for American workers.
The best job market of many people’s lifetime is over. Going forward, workers and job seekers will have less bargaining power in most industries, and this will affect their pay and perks. But it doesn’t mean that there will be a rush to follow Amazon’s lead. Five-day mandates run the risk of backfiring, because star workers will be given an excuse to look for new jobs.
What will this mean for Burlington? Will staff return to their offices?
The pandemic meant that having people work from their homes was necessary – the pandemic is over but staff liked the hybrid arrangement – it certainly changed the life/work balance.
Jassy believes that getting workers back together full-time is necessary to maintain office culture and enhance productivity. Research on working from home shows that the jury is still out. Mark Ma, an associate professor of business administration at the University of Pittsburgh, has studied this issue extensively. He told me, “Five days a week in the office is unnecessary for productivity.”
City Staff during a BBQ day
The federal government is having serious problems getting people back to the office – insisting on three days at the office is proving to be difficult.
The millions being spent on changing the entrance to city hall and renovating Civic Square is not seen as a needed change by many – just what is the purpose of a City Hall and is the one we have going to serve the public well for the next two decades ?
Long term in the view of the Gazette is that there will be a new city hall in a different location eventually.
The City of Burlington needs to radically re-think its customer service strategy.
Having developed and implemented work-from-home policies previously I can categorically state that there are some jobs which, by their very nature, do not lend themselves well to WAH. Production and manufacturing are one form. Investigative roles are another. Front-line customer service roles are another. Jobs requiring a strong on-site presence are another.
CoB’s problem is that its focus is primarily internal. It is trying to curry favour with its employees by having employees work from home on an extended basis, and thus position itself as a Best in Class Employer. Actually, the focus needs to be the public, and how best can their needs and issues be addressed. In the hierarchy of priorities the public is way down the list, and you can see that in the dismissive way in which many CoB employees treat members of the public. Ironically, you don’t get that response from Region of Halton staff.
The customer service from Burlington city hall has decreased significantly as their staff work from home. A phone customer cannot be transferred to the needed staff member as they are working from home that day and no longer have a phone extension. Nor can an in person customer speak to that person as they may not be on site. It is all done by email now and the staff member has 24-48 hours to get back to you. They care 1st about their staff, 2nd about their customers.