Federal public servants are increasingly working from government-owned co-working spaces after various departments began asking workers to return to the office last month
Federal public servants are flocking to government-operated co-working spaces after some departments began calling employees back to the office, exposing a fresh fault line in the future of work.
According to PSPC data, in September alone the daily utilization rates of all five sites in Ottawa and Gatineau surpassed 80 per cent. Between February, 2021, and September, 2022, the average utilization rate of those facilities ranged from 36 per cent to 55 per cent.The government intends to increase the number of such sites as they become more popular with workers.
L'Esplanade Laurier in Ottawa is home to one of the many co-working spaces across the city dedicated to Government of Canada employees.“Most government employees are still working almost entirely from home, which means that they’re not coming into GCcoworking spaces or the office,” said Michael Aubry, a communications officer for the Public Service Alliance of Canada , a federal employees’ union. Mr.
But if federal employees are looking to co-working spaces as a substitute for working from the office, it is still unclear if federal employers are on board with that arrangement. When asked if employees could use co-working spaces as a replacement for mandatory in-office days, the PSPC spokesperson said that would depend on the department. “Some participating departments include work from GCcoworking as part of their mandated on-premise days, and others do not.