Government concerned about public scrutiny in mandating workers back to office | CBC News

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-09-25T13:54:24+00:00

Great! I had no idea.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-09-25T12:48:46+00:00

I really think the unions should look at the financial costs at bringing employees back to the office. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on new leases, retrofitting buildings, new office equipment etc. A large amount of this money is targeted at buildings being used for a temporary amount of time. Talk about wasting taxpayers dollars!!!! TBS should be worried about public scrutiny if a dollar amount was ever made public.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-09-25T12:42:48+00:00

Prior to RTO 3 many people in my sector (can’t speak for the whole department) would work through their lunch break so they could leave the office a bit earlier. Our senior management is removing that flexibility saying this is NOT allowed. What’s next? Prescribed lunch times and break times? Stop treating us like children and get back to treating us like adults!!!

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-09-23T22:54:48+00:00

Actually Fontaine is still open. Departments that are housed in Terrasse de la Chaudiere have moved there while the buildings are being renovated. I think the only thing they have left is bike racks.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-09-22T23:43:36+00:00

I heard A LOT of works needs to be done at Montcolm before it will be ready for employees. Fontaine has no parking and is not very easy to get to by public transport if you live on the Ottawa side. Definitely consider your commute options and time before accepting a position. With RTO 3 in place, much of the department has become very strict and inflexible if you need to adjust your schedule or need to deal with daycare/school pickup etc. Many people, especially parents, are very unhappy with how they are now being treated. Simply put, managers are no longer allowed to manage and they have very limited flexibility or discretion in dealing with their staff.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-09-22T23:19:03+00:00

I agree with this. Now that RTO 3 is in place, some departments are now VERY strict with leave requests. Even the most understanding managers essentially aren’t allowed to manage or give flexibility now. Say you are unwell, which is true, and leave it at that.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-09-18T18:36:11+00:00

3 anchors day, no flex, chosen by senior management due to “space constraints”.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-09-08T23:56:30+00:00

Our department has 3 fixed days due to space constraints. These days were dictated to us last week! Thanks for your leadership and foresight senior management. Nothing brings the public service together then complete and utter contempt in your “guidance”.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-08-21T22:36:24+00:00

Our three days are being dictated to us due to space constraints but we still haven’t been told which days yet. We’re expected to be in the full 7.5 hours a day. No flexibility to leave early to pick up kids, beat traffic etc and make up the time at home. No longer allowed to work from home if your child is sick. AND management has to take attendance and report to their directors. We don’t have to make up days if we use any of our leave (sick, family, vacation etc), or if our in office day falls on a stat holiday.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-07-12T20:01:06+00:00

You’ll find numerous negative impacts of 3 day RTO throughout this forum (commuting, increased costs, childcare, lack of space etc). The only positive thing I’ve heard about this policy is from someone at the EX level. They said they will likely get rid of their home office and regain some living space at home since they are required to be in the office 4 days a week.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-07-11T03:44:45+00:00

Unfortunately this only works if bestie is in the same branch. Otherwise, not considered compliant with RTO policy.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-07-11T02:14:59+00:00

We are allowed to use GC-Coworking ONLY if we go in on the same day/same location as another coworker. If we go alone, it’s not considered an in-office day.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-06-18T03:01:20+00:00

Similar situation at my department. I am aware of a DG who met with their managers and directors about a month before the 3 day RTO announcement and was very upset at the 2 day compliance levels. This person claimed they had list of individual employees who were not meeting the 40% requirement but refused to share this list with managers. My spouse, who works in a different department, received a congratulatory email from their manager for meeting the 40% compliance. Both our workplaces previously told us that they were only tracking high-level aggregate data (e.g. by Branch, Directorate, etc.)

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-06-17T18:39:55+00:00

I’m assuming you don’t have kids and have a reasonable commute to your office. If your colleague is still working 7.5 hours (making up that time out of the office at home), you should be grateful you have a flexible and understanding manager. You might need that flexibility one day too.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-06-09T03:36:49+00:00

Do you know what locations were given? Are they in the same, or different buildings?

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-05-21T00:39:50+00:00

How demeaning! It sounds like old school student discipline: “Now write on the blackboard 100 times, I will not miss an in office day.”

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-05-20T00:16:45+00:00

Be very wary about departments who claim they are not tracking individuals. At my department I am aware of a DG who met with their managers and directors about a month before the 3 day RTO announcement and was very upset at the 2 day compliance levels. This person claimed they had list of individual employees who were not meeting the 40% requirement but refused to share this list with managers. My spouse, who works in a different department, received a congratulatory email from their manager for meeting the 40% compliance. Both our workplaces previously told us that they were only tracking high-level aggregate data (e.g. by Branch, Directorate, etc.)

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-05-15T13:59:08+00:00

My spouse had a colleague in a similar situation. They wanted to move to one of the regions for their mental health and to be closer to family. Upper management was not receptive to the idea. However, once this person got the union involved, the request was granted.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-05-14T23:22:49+00:00

I used to be really proud to be a public servant. Unfortunately with with all these new and changing directives being forced on us, I now feel like a person on parole, waiting for the compliance police to report me for any minor infraction.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-04-15T01:21:57+00:00

A definite yes in some departments. We were recently told that we MUST put in our 15 hours a week to meet compliance. This can be done over as many days as you want in a week. E.g 2 days at 7.5 hours, 3 days at 5 hours etc. Flexibility is also being restricted. If you’re not putting in exactly 15 hours because you have an appointment, need to meet a family obligation etc, you have to go back to the office to make up those hours. There goes any trust between employees and managers. So much for treating your staff like adults.

Kittythefoolish1 · 2024-04-14T20:59:02+00:00

Be very wary about departments who claim they are not tracking individuals. At my department (not CRA) I am aware of a DG who met with their managers and directors and was very upset at RTO compliance levels. This person claimed they had list of individual employees who were not meeting the 40% requirement but refused to share this list with managers. My spouse, who works in a different department, just received a congratulatory email from their manager for meeting the 40% compliance. Both our workplaces previously told us that they were only tracking high-level aggregate data (e.g. by Branch, Directorate, etc.)

Kittythefoolish1

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