Hybrid work wars taking hold as N.S. workers resist the push back to the office

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The deadline for thousands of Nova Scotia civil servants to return to the office passed more than two weeks ago, but after working from home for years, many have balked at the idea, both non-union people, who were the first to be told to come back, and unionized workers, who haven’t been forced back yet.

The Nova Scotia government issued an internal memo in August that told non-unionized employees they would be expected back in the office full time by Oct 15. The directive came as shock to many who’d been working remotely for as many as three days a week for several years. There are 3,500 non-unionized provincial employees, accounting for about a third of the workforce.

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But the province won’t say how many have complied with the order.

“Managers are having conversations about this directive, directly with their staff, as they have been asked, and we are not currently aware of any incidents,” Jeff Tobin, a spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Public Service Commission, said. “This represents significant change for some. Staff maintain some level of flexibility. We will continue to support our staff throughout the adjustment.”

In 2015, the province introduced a program that gave employees across different departments options to work from home. A broader program was rolled out in 2020 during the pandemic.

One employee, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her identity, said she complied with the order after working several years from home. But she said being able to work three days a week from home helped her mental health, improved her work-life balance and made her more productive. She also saved money from not having to commute, which she said is true for many of her colleagues.

“For most of the people impacted, working remotely changed nothing from a work perspective,” she said. “I would argue most of us worked more hours and were more willing to respond to requests outside their normal work hours as a way to show how much we appreciated the flexibility.”

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One of the government’s reasons for ordering people back to the office is to foster an improved working environment and collaboration, but the woman said nothing has changed.

“Back at the office, all our meetings remain virtual or have a virtual option,” she said, adding that some employees dial in because they’re in a different office, or haven’t been called back yet.

“Having to travel back and forth to work, which costs money and, more importantly, time we’re not compensated for, only to sit in a desk and dial into virtual meetings all day just doesn’t make a lot of sense,” she said. “People are struggling to heat their homes and put food on the table. Government employees are no exception.”

She also believes public servants are being called because there’s an election on. Premier Tim Houston called a snap election on Oct. 27.

“I can only speculate … but the timing would line up,” she said.

Twila Grosse, Nova Scotia’s minister responsible for the Public Service Commission, in August said employees were told to come back for three reasons: managers were having trouble managing employees in different places, new employees needed help with training and in developing relationships with their colleagues.

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Rafael Gomez, a professor of employment relations at the University of Toronto, said the province is effectively changing the terms and conditions for employees who have worked for so long from home. With that in mind, employers should provide more notice or consider a pay raise.

“This is where good management, a good HR approach, is to say let’s do trade-offs,” he said.

That might include a pay differential, he said. Someone who wants to work from home when the employer figures they’re more valuable in the office might be paid less, while someone who comes into the office and pays to commute might be paid more.

“This would be a better management approach and would mean less conflict (and) you’d probably have a more motivated staff,” Gomez said.

Outside government, there are different challenges.

“What the private sector faced was huge turnover pressure,” he said. “People would just say, ‘I’m just going to find another job somewhere else.’ It’s been hard for employers to navigate.”

If people quit, it costs money to replace them and you can lose skills, Gomez said.

“If I think they’re talented and I won’t find someone better, I have to incentivize them to come back or de-incentivize those who want to stay home,” he said.

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Many employers, including the federal government, which in September ordered its employees to return to the office three days a week, have settled on splitting the work week between the office and home, a hybrid approach that makes sense when the work is not being done in person as opposed to painting boats, teaching a high school class or nursing.

In the end, Gomez said, governments and other employers will likely have to accept the reality of hybrid work.

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