The Montreal Chamber of Commerce announces the end of remote work for its employees

Finally, Elon Musk may not have gotten everything wrong. Like the head of Twitter, Montreal Chamber of Commerce management (CCMM) has announced the end of generalized remote work and now expects its employees to return to working in the office full time.

Empty offices: Montreal posted one of the worst showings in the country

The decision was communicated to approximately 105 home employees yesterday morning. From May 1, that is, in twelve days, the most important group of Montreal businessmen wants their premises in the World Trade Center to become, as before, “the regular workplace of their employees.”

“It’s kind of a return to working downtown full-time,” he sums up in an interview with its CEO, Michel LeBlanc. Full-time, of course, but with all the flexibility the remote work experience afforded us during the pandemic,” he immediately qualifies.

temporary growl

For just over a year, the Chamber has embarked on a process of gradually returning its teams face-to-face. Today, its employees are required to report to the office no fewer than three days a week, two of which are determined by management. After this limit – from the fourth day – employees benefit from payment by their employer for their monthly public transport card.

“There were, of course, some grumblings at first, he admits. But if some threaten to leave, he says, others come to work with us precisely because they can no longer bear the isolation at home. Many of them — especially early in their careers — understood that Choosing to work remotely means depriving themselves of a lot of learning that, in the long run, may limit their career prospects.

Despite Quebec’s perceived lag compared to other major cities in the country, the chamber’s senior chair says he feels a desire among business leaders here to return to pre-pandemic practices. Two weeks ago, Royal Bank of Canada announced to its employees at its main office in Toronto that their presence in the office was henceforth required up to four days a week to stay competitive.

Stop being afraid

He also expects the Chamber’s approach to be emulated by several other companies in the coming weeks or months. It thus calls on all levels of government (federal, regional and municipal), especially lagging behind the private sector in this regard, to adopt policies without delay to accelerate the return of their employees to workplaces.

According to Michel LeBlanc, even if employees have a feeling – often rightly – that they are performing work similar to or better than what they did before, more and more organizations are noticing a real decrease in the group’s productivity and its competitiveness against competitors, in the US for example , as remote work has not spread much.

For companies, I tell them to stop being afraid. You will not lose your employees. On the contrary, by asking them to return to the office, to make it the natural workplace, you enhance your organizational culture, your ability to integrate newcomers as well as retain your employees. You do not lose, on the contrary; You protect your achievements and take the means to stay in the race.”