Working from home vs. commuting to work during and after the pandemic

[Jonny5]

I got the long expected "all employees must be in the office three days per week" memo by email late on Friday (so late that I didn't see it until today). I am already doing three days, though on day three I usually make it a half day and go home at 1:00 p.m..

They shared they were monitoring employee pass usage to determine days in the office (though this was quietly mentioned a few months ago too buried in an email I'm sure not many read,) and they were generally satisfied, but there were some divisions and satellite office locations where the average was still only one day per week, and that triggered the mandate. If those people had come in two days per week, they probably would not have forced the three day mandate, or at least not until next year perhaps.

I also think they would be happy if some people quit over the change as there are rumours they want to cut the headcount at the bank.

 

[Admiral Beez]

They shared they were monitoring employee pass usage to determine days in the office (though this was quietly mentioned a few months ago too buried in an email I'm sure not many read,)

As long as the CEO and top brass are also scanning their pass and keeping these days and hours - everyone has a boss and the shareholders deserve the same feilty. I used to work at a company where all the office staff had to scan their thumb print to enter and exit the office, and if you didn’t HR would call you out. Of course the top management was exempt and came and went as they pleased. The whole point of the system was that the CEO didn’t trust the employees and in his mind, time in your chair was equal to productivity. He was such a tool. I remember we were at a trade show in Nuremberg, Germany and one late night over too many drinks I sat with the CEO and two other top brass. The CEO drunkenly said, you know Beez, I’m a multimillionaire while you‘re a failure or something like that, to which I replied, I judge a man and a business‘ success not only on what they and it have accomplished, but also by what opportunities and results they and it failed to achieve. You may be a multimillionaire, but by poorly treating the three essential pillars of your company, that of our customers (though poor quality and late deliveries), employees (finger scans, distrust and fear) and suppliers (not paying on time) the company has lost tens of millions in potential revenue. Rest assured, I was terminated when we got back, lol. I was unemployed for four (in hindsight glorious) spring/summer months in 2019, where I rode my motorcycle all over the Ontario countryside and sat in the Jet Fuel cafe on Parliament St. reading and writing. What that last employer and those four months taught me is unless I’m desperate I will not work for anyone who uses electronic accountability tools, be it door scanners or tracking bots on my mobile phone or pc, especially if the accountability flows only one way. So, now I work for a SME where I won’t get rich, but we trust and rely upon each other. I’m 52 now and have about eight years left to work, and I’ll never go back to the corporate employee-tracking world.

 

[Jonny5]

As long as the CEO and top brass are also scanning their pass and keeping these days and hours - everyone has a boss and the shareholders deserve the same feilty. I used to work at a company where all the office staff had to scan their thumb print to enter and exit the office, and if you didn’t HR would call you out. Of course the top management was exempt and came and went as they pleased. The whole point of the system was that the CEO didn’t trust the employees and in his mind, time in your chair was equal to productivity. He was such a tool. I remember we were at a trade show in Nuremberg, Germany and one late night over too many drinks I sat with the CEO and two other top brass. The CEO drunkenly said, you know Beez, I’m a multimillionaire while you‘re a failure or something like that, to which I replied, I judge a man and a business‘ success not only on what they and it have accomplished, but also by what opportunities and results they and it failed to achieve. You may be a multimillionaire, but by poorly treating the three essential pillars of your company, that of our customers (though poor quality and late deliveries), employees (finger scans, distrust and fear) and suppliers (not paying on time) the company has lost tens of millions in potential revenue. Rest assured, I was terminated when we got back, lol. I was unemployed for four (in hindsight glorious) spring/summer months in 2019, where I rode my motorcycle all over the Ontario countryside and sat in the Jet Fuel cafe on Parliament St. reading and writing. What that last employer and those four months taught me is unless I’m desperate I will not work for anyone who uses electronic accountability tools, be it door scanners or tracking bots on my mobile phone or pc, especially if the accountability flows only one way. So, now I work for a SME where I won’t get rich, but we trust and rely upon each other. I’m 52 now and have about eight years left to work, and I’ll never go back to the corporate employee-tracking world.

Oh this one is definitely for security. Pass swipes are now required even for elevator access to our floor as it is now locked down 24/7. Before the pandemic it was open to anyone on weekdays for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but the building recommended the change due to a large increase in random people coming in to the building to use the washrooms which could be accessed on any floor which didn't have one single tenant that put locked doors right at both ends of the elevator lobby. So now you have to swipe to even go up to your floor, then again to get in the office. It's a nightmare when you forget your pass. You have to call someone to come down to the ground floor to get you, or hope you bump into someone else from the office going up.

My understanding is many more office towers are switching to this approach downtown.

 

[Admiral Beez]

due to a large increase in random people coming in to the building to use the washrooms

We really need to have more public toilets in this city. During the pandemic when everything was closed I'd be riding my motorcycle in some country town and cars would pull up to the Tim Hortons and the women would rush out of the car only to find that the Timmies was locked up, while their men would walk behind and piss on the wall, lol.

 

[Northern Light]

Interesting article on this subject in a recent edition of The Economist:

The fight over working from home goes global

Employees want to toil in the kitchen. Bosses want them back in the office

www.economist.com

This is the opening paragraph:

The article over all is a more balanced than the lead would suggest. It notes some enterprises, such as Britain's HSBC seem to be embracing at least partial remote work and downsizing their office footprint.

But others as noted above are doing everything to curtail remote work.

 

[christiesplits]

Oh this one is definitely for security. Pass swipes are now required even for elevator access to our floor as it is now locked down 24/7. Before the pandemic it was open to anyone on weekdays for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but the building recommended the change due to a large increase in random people coming in to the building to use the washrooms which could be accessed on all the floors which didn't have one single tenant where there would be locked doors right at the elevator lobby. So now you have to swipe to even go up to the floor, then again to get in the office. It's a nightmare when you forget your pass. You have to call someone to come down to the ground floor to get you, or hope you bump into someone else from the office going up.

My understanding is many more office towers are switching to this approach downtown.

We really need to have more public toilets in this city. During the pandemic when everything was closed I'd be riding my motorcycle in some country town and cars would pull up to the Tim Hortons and the women would rush out of the car only to find that the Timmies was locked up, while their men would walk behind and piss on the wall, lol.

As recent as 20 years ago, if I was downtown and wanted to use a clean washroom, I would find the nearest office tower, as most had washrooms on every floor that were accessible to the public. They are super rare now.

Some hotels still have nice washrooms in the lobby or meeting area spaces that you can use.

 

[Admiral Beez]

oh yes, clean and normal toilets in the city center are now a luxury:_)

Oh course with our lack of law enforcement and our societal surrender to disorder, any unstaffed public facilities would be quickly vandalized and then occupied by junkies and squatters. We can't have nice things.

What happened to all the public washrooms in Toronto? - Spacing Toronto

When nature calls in Toronto, it’s usually an obliging bar or cafe that answers. Outside of city parks and public buildings, public washrooms are practically non-existent. In fact, there are only three roadside lavatories servicing the 2.8 million people within our borders. That today’s Toronto...

spacing.ca

 

[Towered]

Oh this one is definitely for security. Pass swipes are now required even for elevator access to our floor as it is now locked down 24/7. Before the pandemic it was open to anyone on weekdays for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but the building recommended the change due to a large increase in random people coming in to the building to use the washrooms which could be accessed on all the floors which didn't have one single tenant where there would be locked doors right at the elevator lobby. So now you have to swipe to even go up to the floor, then again to get in the office. It's a nightmare when you forget your pass. You have to call someone to come down to the ground floor to get you, or hope you bump into someone else from the office going up.

My understanding is many more office towers are switching to this approach downtown.

I also work in a downtown office tower, and we had the same thing in place during the pandemic, requiring pass cards to use the elevator, but that restriction was lifted earlier this year, thankfully. It was incredibly annoying.

 

[Northern Light]

As recent as 20 years ago, if I was downtown and wanted to use a clean washroom, I would find the nearest office tower, as most had washrooms on every floor that were accessible to the public. They are super rare now.

Some hotels still have nice washrooms in the lobby or meeting area spaces that you can use.

Loblaws has public washrooms at all stores, generally in a reasonable state.

Longos and Farm Boy do as well, at full-line stores (not the mini ones).

Full sized Metros and Sobeys usually have such a washroom, though in older stores, you may need to ask to use it as it may be in the employees-only section.

 

[evandyk]

The towers still all have public washrooms in the concourse level.

Public washroom access is a perennial issue in Toronto, but was really acute during the early days of the pandemic when all of the Tim Hortons, restaurants, etc. were closed. We really noticed it in our neighbourhood.

 

[Jonny5]

The towers still all have public washrooms in the concourse level.

Public washroom access is a perennial issue in Toronto, but was really acute during the early days of the pandemic when all of the Tim Hortons, restaurants, etc. were closed. We really noticed it in our neighbourhood.

It's true they do, though I note they are often tucked away in non-obvious locations with very little (and literally little) signs directing to their location. I suspect a lot of people would not even know they were there even when they walk right by them.

 

[evandyk]

It's true they do, though I note they are often tucked away in non-obvious locations with very little (and literally little) signs directing to their location. I suspect a lot of people would not even know they were there even when they walk right by them.

There is definitely a lot of "not wanting certain people to use them" going on, though I suspect those "certain people" know exactly where all of them are. The security guards in the PATH have definitely multiplied immensely in the last three years. I have many mixed thoughts about this, because I like to be able to find a public bathroom that is clean and available, but I am really not the person who most needs that amenity, and the people who do need it most often get chased away by security guards.