York Region is making renovations to its offices to accommodate a policy change that will see more employees mandated to work less from home.
The region is implementing a mandated 50-50 split for its workforce in terms of working from home versus in the office, which will come into effect July 1. This comes after years of a flexible work arrangement policy, which allowed about 60 per cent of the workforce to work from home for the most part.
But the change is coming with cost, as director of corporate communications Patrick Casey said the region is outfitting its buildings for more employee use.
“During COVID-19, work was done to create safe space seating for staff to work safely onsite, as needed, through the pandemic,” Casey said. “Current workplace preparations are required to bring workstations online to support more frequent onsite work.”
The region’s policy change has caused some controversy among the its workforce. Union employees staged a walk-in protest May 23 and said the move may prove costly is it results in employees quitting over it.
The region would not disclose how much it is spending on the office retrofits, but Casey said it is within the operating budget, which includes supporting ongoing technology and furniture.
“We are using technology and furniture we already have and supplementing with some new equipment,” Casey said.
Casey said there are approximately 2,600 workspaces across 13 York Region buildings equipped with at least one monitor, a keyboard, a mouse and chair. Employees in hybrid positions will not necessarily have designated workspaces and will be required to pre-book their workspace before attending onsite work.
“A true hybrid work environment best meets the needs of York Regional council and our communities, helps to drive best practices and digital transformation and addresses our growing pressures to implement continuous improvement in service delivery,” Casey said.
