The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Your Turn - Return To The Office or Work From Home?

Episode Date: February 12, 2026

Thursday means Your Turn, today with a special guest host tandem. Our focus: A question on many workers' minds since COVID hit in 2020 - should we need to be back in the office? Nowadays, many question if in-office work will ever be necessary again. Today it's your chance to have a say in the WFH vs. in-office debate, and your letters came in from across the country. Plus The Ranter is back again on the topic of Trump. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

And hello there. You're listening to the latest episode of The Bridge. I'm Will Mansbridge. It's Thursday, and that means your turn. And it's a special edition of your turn this week. That's coming right up. All right. So, as you can already tell, you're not listening to Peter Mansbridge. As has been the case now a couple of times, you're listening to Will Mansbridge. I'm really excited to be back. as has been the case before, I tend to step in when my dad has something else going on. That's the case this week. He's in Winnipeg for his speech. And we're really proud to deliver a seamless podcast product to you every week, the listener. But there's a lot that goes into these in the background. And so we knew that it wasn't going to be, you know, my dad being on the road, it wasn't going to be conducive to him doing the full, your turn production. So I graciously agreed to step in for him again this week. But his schedule kind of opened up tonight. We're recording this on Wednesday night. And we decided, why not

do it together? So you might have heard that laugh there. But my dad is here in front of me on Zoom. What's going on, Dad? Hey, this is historic. The first father's son, man, Bridge podcast. You know, I'm excited. I think this is great. Good for you. One of the things that Dad and I are really proud of that we tell anyone who will listen to us is that we're convinced that we're the only family to have had three generations of our family

fly on a Lancaster, which some of you might know is the plane that my grandfather, dad's dad was a bomb emmer on. And now we can say that we've had two generations on the podcast, which is maybe not equally as cool, but it's still pretty cool. Well, I'll tell you what's cool. It's cold here in Winnipeg, just like it is in, you know, back in Stratford and in Toronto. I mean, I think it's starting to warm up a little bit, but these last couple of weeks have been really cold. And you can tell it here in Winnipeg. Now it's always cold in Winnipeg in the winter.

Yeah, they hear minus 20 for us, and that's just any other Tuesday in the winter in Winnipeg. Yeah, exactly. Okay, what have we got here for your turn this week? Yeah, obviously, the subject matter, return to office or work from home to give everyone sort of a sense of how this will go. I'll be reading all of your letters, which we're really excited to get to. and occasionally that'll probably just jump in with an anecdote here or there. We're kind of shooting from the hip on this one. So we'll see how it goes.

Maybe he'll even jump in and correct me on a name or a pronunciation of a town somewhere in Canada. He's got it's a learning experience. All right. Let's start with Amanda. Amanda LaRugetal from Winnipeg. Work from home was a necessary adjustment when COVID hit, and most employees rose to the challenge. Over the ensuing months and years, the world changed, but most workplaces haven't. Requiring employees to return to the office.

Holus bolus. Holes bolus. That really got me. Yeah. It's not a real word. Requiring employees. It's a good word. When I scanned the dictionary there in my head, I knew I didn't recognize it.

Requiring employees to return to the office holds bolus will work only if workplaces have caught up with the social and work practices that have evolved. I doubt most workplaces have. Employers, be more imaginative. The thing I love about these letters this week, and I've managed to scan some of them, is they're really quite thoughtful, no matter where you, are on the the argument here and amanda's is just one example of that but don't don't let me interrupt you keep going graham mcintyre he's not interrupting me he's interrupting you graham yeah coquitlam bc i'm very productive working from home with an ergonomic setup and custom-made desk free from distractions However, I'm a federal worker based in BC and have to commute for two hours per day, three days a week, soon four, to a local leased office space while all my colleagues work in Ottawa or Toronto.

It's bad for taxpayers due to office space costs, bad for the environment, and provides no discernible benefits for anyone. It's pretty convincing argument. Yeah, no kidding. In Graham's example. Yeah. Wendy Holmes. from London, Ontario, but is currently in Mexico. I believe a hybrid model of three days in office and two days at home is best, allowing flex time for

appointments, child care, etc., and time for collaborating with coworkers. Allows less commuting time, more time with families, less environmental impact with transportation. allows for space sharing in offices, so less money spent on office leasing. Compromise. The great Canadian compromise. Paula Grattan in Miramishie, New Brunswick. In 2025, I returned to the office part-time after five years of working fully remotely. The cost of going to work is significant, and that is the biggest benefit to remote work.

No longer paying for parking, suitable clothes, gas, and food. food. It is not up to employees to keep city centers afloat, and that is the main reason people are being sent back to the office anywhere. We are being punished to benefit others. Tim Mulligan in Ottawa. Going into the office feels pointless when I don't work with anyone in the building. I'm just on Microsoft Teams exactly like at home. With no fixed desk, I haul my supplies daily, and constantly battle to readjust my ergonomic setup. Gone are the days of keeping my kids' photos on my desk. Critics demanding civil servants return to work

should imagine commuting daily to an office where you don't even have a seat. You know, the return to work phrase, and I'm guilty of it too, having used it, is, you know, it really upsets some people because they're not returning to work. They're returning to the office. They haven't stopped working.

you know they've been working from home so return to work is an i i know what we're saying when we say return to work we're talking about return to the work building um but it it doesn't sound right and i understand why it doesn't return to office we don't have to complicate it beyond that madison de wetting in strathroy ontario i'm lucky that i have flexibility around working from home For example, if my son's daycare is closed or he is sick, it cuts down on sick time for my employer, and I'm just as efficient, if not more efficient when working from home. When I do go in, 95% of the meetings are still virtual, so what's the point? It cuts down on my employer's operating costs, parking, etc. Change is a good thing.

Nicholas McDonald in Vancouver Work from home has allowed me to spend quality time with my young daughter while working a demanding job. I regularly work 50 plus hours a week and as my employer is enacting return to work, I won't be home to say goodnight or read to her before bed. How much is enough for big business? What are we working for? Boy, the whole return to the office is not doing well so far. Yeah, I'm kind of waiting for a positive one here. John Michael Schneider in Hamilton.

I listen to your show while driving to work, and I dare say no amount of insightful political dialogue can fill the empty void I feel when staring down a sea of red taillights. For me, returning to work has meant less time with my kids, less time for hobbies, and more time sitting in a small metal box traveling 20 kilometers per hour. idling my life away. Well, that's a pretty compelling. That's a pretty compelling letter. Well, it is if that's what you're spending so much of your time doing.

And clearly, John Michael is spending a lot of his time in his car, trying to just get back and forth. You know, I had a colleague a couple years ago who, she'd explained to me her and her husband, both of them. They lived in Kitchener and worked, This was pre-pandemic. They lived in Kitchener and commuted to downtown every day there in town. Downtown Toronto.

Downtown Toronto. Yeah, downtown Toronto. And I still think about that. I can't imagine doing that drive. Having grown up doing that drive from Stratford to Toronto, I can't imagine doing that twice a day. Back and forth. Back and forth.

Every day. Yeah. Terrible. Joanne Bamford in Wayne Fleet, Ontario. Companies, organizations, and government, workers should have the option of working from home if possible. Consider how many cars can be taken off congested roads. That would help John Michael. That will free up space for the rest of us. Parents would be more available for their children when they are home. Companies, organizations, and governments

won't need as much office space. Therefore, saving money and maybe, just maybe, passing on savings to us consumers. Kristen Gite in Gite. Gite. Gite. Gite. My apologies, Kristen. I think.

Don't apologize. You know, listen, the tricky names. Smithers, B.C. Smithers, BC. I work mostly from home with a couple of in-person meetings a month. I turn down a higher paid role for the flexibility. And I feel the choice when I see my, checks. But remote work lets me parent in a way I feel good about. My husband works camp half the

year and without local supports, my kid isn't shuttled between care. If Canada has a productivity problem, employer trust and flexibility designed around what truly needs to be in person could be one lever. Canada won't lead by going back. Marilyn Wallace. Now, Marilyn Wallace normally in Fannie Bay, BC, but currently in Ho Chiman City in Vietnam. During my long teaching career, I have worked in both traditional and online classroom settings. Students were equally well-served either way. Working at home saved me an hour commute every day and also reduced my carbon footprint, but I missed the spontaneous collaboration that naturally occurs when you are working near your colleagues. If it's possible, I believe a hybrid model is best. Both options have their merits.

I was waiting for someone to say that because that's exactly the take, so to speak, that I would have of that spontaneous collaboration. I can't imagine for you what that would have been like all those years at the national or even to some extent, you know, the podcast, but the idea of doing your job through an entirely virtual setting, when it's so reliant on people, it's impossible. Yeah. I mean, listen, it's possible. You could do it, but it would make for a bad product. In my case, in the, you know, in a newsroom setting,

so much of what happens in a newsroom is the interactivity of the different people who are working in there, the different arguments, the debates, the discussions around stories. Um, sure, you can have that from a distance, but it's not the same. Um, so, you know, what we're finding out here is, you know, some jobs, you know, offer the, the, the, um, the benefits of working from home. Um, others not so much. Um, and you make a good argument on that one, Willie. So go ahead. Maria Krause in Vancouver.

Hybrid work is often framed as a privilege, but in reality, workplace rights haven't kept up with the times. Stay-at-home parents are no longer the norm. Families are stretched thin in ways they weren't a generation ago. Research consistently shows that hybrid work improves work-life balance. Overall health, equity, accessibility, and representation, all while boosting productivity. I guess the real question is, who gains from a return to the office? and who loses. Fabrian Budiman in Milton, Ontario.

I understand the benefits of in-person collaboration. Much easier onboarding new hires and informal relationship and team building. However, it comes at the cost of over two hours a day in transit. Much earlier wake-up time, hundreds of dollars monthly transportation costs, and for young families' daycare and or more. grandparents duty while we have big reduction of family time with our young children that we'd never be able to get back. You know, clearly there's a difference here if you live in in and around a major city. This two-hour transit back and forth, you know, that's probably Southern Ontario and

Toronto, Mississauga, London, Ontario, stuff like that. But, you know, there's a lot of this country of small towns and small distances, short distances. So that argument, as convincing as it is for a major city, not so much when you get to smaller communities. Jeff Fisher in Riverview, New Brunswick. Henry Ford revolutionized work scheduling with the 40-hour work week in 1926. It took almost 100 years, some underutilized. technology and a global pandemic to change it. As much as some employers may want to go back,

the employee is now in the driver's seat when it comes to favorable and flexible work schedules. If employers want to hire and keep quote unquote good employees, they will need to be open-minded on scheduling, including location flexibility. Alan Bell in Ottawa. For many jobs today, working from home makes a lot of sense. commuting wastes time and money creates pollution and traffic and leads to car accidents and stress. Office environments are often noisy and distracting places to work and cost the employers a lot to maintain. Some jobs do require in-person activities, but many simply require meticulous attention to detail and the ability to focus without interruption, so are actually better done at home.

That's that counter right to the idea of creativity or personal connection being in the forefront, focusing instead on meticulous attention to detail. David Dorge in Winnipeg. If you want to work from home, do so at a reduced rate of pay. You're not paying for fuel for your car or for your bus. You're not paying for car insurance. You're not paying for parking. You're not spending time in rush out.

commuting to and from work. I shouldn't be penalized for having to do all of the above because my job doesn't offer working from home. And some jobs just don't, you know. Right. And so that's not a bad argument for that situation. Constance Menzies in Narrow, Manitoba. I own a small business making and selling food.

And so we must be on site throughout the week. weekend and holidays too. When I'm not at the shop, I work at my home computer catching up or setting things up. This is not the same as working from home. We very much envy those that have the ability or option to work from home. Victor Prasad in Calgary. For the love of God, it's 2026. Based decisions on outcomes and roles. Customer service, work at home. Manager, the office. Remote work only fails when management sucks. It isn't the employee's job to subsidize nearby businesses by buying overpriced lunches.

Let's be honest, some managers just want to physically harass and micromanage people. If you can't lead without line of site control, the problem isn't the location. It's the leader. It's not a bad argument. I would be lying if I didn't, if the subtext on so many of these letters for me wasn't at least partially the conversation of artificial intelligence replacing jobs and how quickly are large organizations going to move towards that. And are they going to increase the speed at which they move towards that because their employees don't want to come back to the office? I'm not proposing any answers to that. I'm just saying I'm thinking about that through a lot of these letters.

Yeah, no, I hear you. We'll get a couple more in here before the break and before the ranter. Oh, yes, the random ranter. He's still here. Jason Elliott Benda in Champaign, Illinois. Working from home is not an option for many employees, like custodians and building maintenance and others working remotely eliminate those jobs. Many government services, like providing documents and receiving payments.

Payments need in-person options to serve the public. Students should have options for in-person instruction if it is better for them. Tech employees, who would be collaborating on a computer anyway, don't benefit from non-remote work requirements. Jane Jewett in Oakville, Ontario. Once again, men will benefit as women are overlooked and left behind professionally. It is a narrow reading of quote unquote productivity that makes sure 50% of our talent pool is kept too exhausted to be fully productive and unable to take senior leadership positions because family duties are seen to conflict with an old male-centered model of what leadership looks like. It shows a deep lack of understanding and vision from our corporate and government leadership. but let's pause it there.

What do you think? Ready for a break? Sure. All right. I mean, once again, you know, I, I find these letters. I wasn't sure what we were going to get on this. Yeah. I thought we got, you get sort of yes or no answers.

But they're really good because they make you think. And they make you realize that not everyone's in the same position. No kidding. You know, they, they have reason for. for their argument. You know, when it first started around COVID, I remember some of the things that were said, oh, people just wanna stay at home,

they're not gonna be productive. And it wasn't the case. Study after study after study showed they were either just as productive or they were more productive working from home. I don't know where that ended up after, you know, after the COVID era was over in terms of productivity, but we're,

hearing some great answers on both sides of the question. Mostly it's, you know, I want to stay at home and I'm a better, I'm a better employee by staying at home. Anyway, and you know, I don't know that I don't know that we will necessarily hear from students. There was that one of the last couple of questions, uh, letters alluded to students specifically, but, you know, I was still a student when COVID hit and and I can remember how much I hated the idea of Zoom class and even hated even more the idea of graduating on Zoom which I did not I don't know that day sitting with you on the couch watching us or watching you graduate on a you know rolling yeah screen it was it was awful I watched a movie the other day

and there was a scene in it that was shot at Con Hall at UFT. And I don't know that I'll ever be able to look at that building ever again and not feel robbed of my Convocation Hall moment at undergrad. Not that it's UFT's fault. All right. Anyways, let's sneak in a break. And on the other side, the random ranter. All right, welcome back. You're listening to The Bridge.

Like we said off the top, kind of a special edition. Today. I'm Will Mansbridge. You're normally listening to Peter Mansbridge around this time of a weekday morning. He's still here though. I'm here. I'm in Winnipeg. And I loving this, loving this father-son thing. Yeah, this is fun. Yeah. Listening on Sirius XM Channel 167 Canada talks are on your favorite podcast platform. That's the, that's the touch I just don't have. I can't I can't throw to our broadcaster like that. Why don't you lead us into the ranter this week? Well, the ranter, you know, the ranter loves talking about Donald Trump.

And it seems like every couple of weeks he comes up with a different angle to go after Donald Trump. He's not a fan. So why don't we, without further ado, let's listen to what he has to say this week. Here he is, the random rinter. You may have missed it in the news, given all the Epstein, Epstein, and more Epstein, but Trump is on the attack again. And no, it's not Cuba or Greenland or even Iran. This time he's after something that will directly affect all Canadians,

because this time he's attacking the environment. That's right. Trump is going to make America pollute again by rescinding the 2009 science that brought greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofloracarbons under the regulation of the Clean Air Act. Experts are billing it as the largest deregulation effort in U.S. history, and it will undermine over a decade's worth of efforts to reduce emissions from power plants, factories, planes, trains, and automobiles.

It not only guts American environmental regulations, it curbstoms them on the way out for good measure. Simply put, Trump is taking climate change denial and making it official public policy. And as their downwind next door neighbors who breathe the same air and in some cases drink the same water, will feel the impact directly. I don't understand his thought process. Does he really think that America will thrive using third world environmental standards? The only explanation I can come up with is that this is what happens when American arrogance runs headlong,

into American ignorance. I mean, Trump might not care about the environment, but the rest of the world most definitely does. He thinks we all owe America fealty, that nations should just bow to his whims. But the reality is that the future needs to be green and the whole world knows it. Just look around. Carbon footprints are dropping everywhere, including from traditional big polluters like China, India and even Brazil. But America is going to go in the complete opposite direction? It makes no sense, but then little of what Trump says makes sense. He might be able to warp reality in America, but the rest of the world knows the score. He can gather up all the oil he wants. He can remove all the regulations. But the green shift is out there, and it's happening with or without America,

and by ignoring it or worse, by denying it, Trump is dooming America to obsolescence. And in my opinion, no one will suffer from it more than the big three American automakers. I mean, last week, Stalantis retreated from the EV market to the tune of $37 billion. Ford took a $19.5 billion hit, and GM got lucky and only had to eat $6 billion in losses from their EV unit. Perhaps this is a regroup on their part. But when taken with Trump's newly announced lower fuel economy targets and is embracing of greenhouse gases, it sure feels like a reset that bets the farm on cheap gas and not worrying about the consequences of guzzling it. This leaves Canada in a real bind. Our auto industry has always been in lockstep with the US.

we traditionally drive the same cars made to the same standards in terms of safety, fuel economy, and emissions. Or rather, we did, because last week our government decided to go in a very different direction. Where Trump has relaxed fuel efficiency and emissions regulations, Carney's liberals have doubled down on green by bringing back EV rebates, by introducing new stricter targets in terms of emissions and fuel efficiency, and by investing heavily and expanding the national EV charging network. This represents a fork in the road moment for the Canadian automotive industry. Our new standards could potentially bar some American vehicles from our market

or require them to have expensive upgrades in order to meet our standards. There really is no way to know how it'll play out until it actually plays out. But in my opinion, I think we'll go from being largely a clone of the American market to something more in line with the European market, just with a whole lot more pickup trucks. As for manufacturing and assembling vehicles in Canada, well, there's no denying that the big three are in full retreat and have been for some time.

Their share of the market has gone from 56% in 2016 down to a poultry 23% now. And if Trump gets his way, we all know it will be zero. Now, living on the prairies, I don't quite understand the focus on the, Big Three manufacturing all the time. Because if we're talking made in Canada, then we should really be talking about Toyota and Honda. They represent 77% of all the vehicles made in Canada, including the top two selling SUVs in the RAV and the top two cars in the Civic and the Corolla.

If the Big Three embrace Trump's new standards, it's only going to further hasten their decline by making them less competitive and perhaps even inadmissible. That's why opening our market, even in a limited way to Chinese EVs, is a good thing. Hopefully some manufacturing can come with it the same way it did with Toyota and Honda all those years ago. I mean, we need new auto manufacturing, and with the decline of the Big Three, it's clear that we need it from new manufacturers. Now, I'm just going to throw something out there, but in addition to needing to attract new auto manufacturers, we also need to rearm our military. Many car companies like Kia and especially Hyundai are also arms manufacturers.

All I'm saying is, maybe, just maybe, there's the makings of a deal out there somewhere. He's so good. Yeah, you know, I had no idea that there was that many cars. Producing Canada by Japanese. manufacturers. 77% of the cars built in Canada are built by Japanese manufacturers. It's stunning. It is.

It is stunning. Back to your letters. Janet Carr in Perry Sound, Ontario. Home of Bobby Orr. Well, not anymore, but that's where he grew up. Yep. And they love him in Perry Sound, Ontario. still. I was fortunate enough to have lifer employment with Ma Bell. Most of my 35 years was in office,

as well as, as was normal back in those days. However, I was lucky enough to have the option of teleworking for a few years while in a project management role. While I did miss my daily interactions with my coworkers, the perks of working from home were undeniably great. For instance, not having to commute, I could sleep in a bit, and I had no lunches to pack or coffees to buy, all of which saved me lots of money. The best perks of all, in my opinion, was working comfortably in my pajamas and doing my laundry. You know, you probably felt the same way before Good Talk and WarBuds and Roger was going to YouTube. The number of times I do the podcast in my pajamas. This is quite a few.

Mind you, I can remember on really hot days doing the national when I was only seen from the waist up in shorts because it was so hot we didn't have any air conditioning in the studio. I mean, that goes back to the early 90s and the late 80s. James Hidden in Calgary. I don't think returning to office will actually solve the very real and measurable problems of how the government is working, like getting the CRA to actually fix Canadians' tax documents when requested.

What they actually need to focus on is making sure the government workers care about working their job and doing it with quality. Don't know how, but uncaring workers in office aren't better than uncaring workers at home. Harold Gold, also in Calgary. During COVID, I really enjoyed working from home. Not having to commute to the office while being able to walk my dog during lunchtime were big selling features. The only downside was not being able to just walk down the hall for a quick, informal discussions with my coworkers. Alex Smith on Galliano Island in BC. As a federal public servant who moved from the lower mainland to a rural community when remote

work was embraced, I wholeheartedly disagree with the latest mandate. Moving was the only way I could afford a detached home. Now I support businesses in my local community instead of in downtown Vancouver. Isn't that just as valuable? Public servants across the country are being asked to subsidize Ottawa's downtown businesses. It's unfair. Leo Bourdain in Ottawa. I'm lucky. I teach French. I teach French to public servants, own my own business, and can work from home. I find it more efficient since the pandemic when I can teach to anyone. Unfortunately, my clients in the Canadian Public Service aren't so lucky. For most of them, they are forced to commute to a location where they plug their work laptop, where they plug in their work laptop, and do exactly the same kind of work they could do remotely.

It makes no sense. Julie and Annie Burns in Ottawa. I was a mom to two young children when COVID hit. I moved my office home, and although it was so hard to balance the two jobs simultaneously, it ended up being the best thing that could have happened to all of us. I still work from home, and I have had the gift of raising my kids,

something I would never have had the privilege to do without the home office. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Who would have ever thought when COVID hit that people years from now would be describing it as, quote, the best thing that could have happened to all of us. Granted, you know, I remember and I should go back and listen to some of those podcasts at the beginning of COVID.

Because at the beginning, we had no idea what this was going to mean. Yeah. We thought, hey, two weeks, three weeks. If we all mask up, it'll,

we'll kill it. It'll be over and move on. But, you know, this whole discussion is as a result of the fact. Yeah. Now, you know, people pointed out that this debate did exist before COVID. Yeah. But it didn't exist on this scale until COVID. And it was because COVID dragged on so long that people got used to it and started to see the real benefits for them in certain circumstances for the whole idea of working from home.

Okay. Josh Como in Montreal. I'm disappointed in the government's views on remote work. I've worked remotely since 2017, and it absolutely made me more productive. There are definitely trade-offs, and it needs to be implemented thoughtfully. But when organizations get it right, it can be a huge win for everyone. If the government doesn't support remote work, they'll miss out on talented workers who won't or can't commute to an office.

That's a great point. Raj Krishna in Toronto. It's fair to expect employees to come to the office one to two times a week if the majority of the interactions are with colleagues in the same city area. On the other hand, I work with colleagues around the world, and it doesn't make sense to have me commute an hour each way only to engage with colleagues on Zoom all day.

My company currently does not enforce in-office attendance. Edith Krause in Langley, BC. Workplace standards evolve, and new norms, like working in a smoke-free or a respectful environment, are not privileges but rights, likewise for working from home in a distraction-free space. Doug Moore in Nanu, Bay, BC.

This isn't about good or bad productivity. If self-employed, you decide where to work and earn income, but maybe in a home or away from home. Whatever works best for you. On the other hand, if an employer writes your paycheck, it decides where you work and earn income. One may very well be able to complete required duties at home, but unless contracted otherwise, the employer determines work location, not the employee. Bottom line.

Lizanne Donnelly in Sutton, Quebec. I'm pro-choice on this topic and believe we need to rethink how we look at labor. There are a variety of inputs that determine a successful relationship between an organization, its clients, and employees. Not every employee wants to work from home, and yet it may be ideal for some. There isn't a cookie-cutter solution. Commercial real estate holdings are greatly impacted as a result of fewer people in buildings. We're going through the equivalent of an industrial revolution, and we should be encouraged to rethink and adapt. She's right.

Xavier Smith in Nanaimo, BC. Too often, the discussion on returning to work ignores the perspective of those who must be, quote-unquote, on-site. The decrease in traffic when many people stay home is noticed by those of us who cannot. Think tradespeople, deliveries, services, etc. Decreased traffic results in a more efficient and safer road system. Those efficiencies mean lower costs for my clients. Those who can should stay home. John Kelly in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.

Ottawa is a case study on why employees are being ordered to end remote work and return to the office. It's not about productivity. It's all about the downtown merchants suffering from a dramatic drop in foot traffic and declining revenues. The federal government has opted to force employees to spend personal time and money commuting to and from increasingly obsolete downtown workplace environments to generate revenue for the retail business sector. You know, there are a lot of letters to talk about this, right? No kidding.

Thomas Ebbinghouse in Campbell River, BC. As a white collar worker, I strongly believe in working from the office. It supports better relationships, productivity, and team dynamics. Some flexibility for remote work is reasonable, but as a manager, I know how difficult it is to stay focused at home. distractions exist even in the office as I see people with their phones out scrolling all the time. It's hard to expect higher productivity without supervision in a remote setting. You know, I can see that argument too.

You know, I really can. But, you know, some of the stats, at least the ones I've seen, and I'm sure Thomas and Campbell River sees a different set of stats, but the ones I've seen are productivity is not lost working from home. Well, having been through now, however many of your letters it's been, I almost wish that we'd sort of preconditioned these entries to say, what field exactly do you work in? You know, if you're a data analyst, let's say, and you're working across an Excel spreadsheet for the majority of your working day, I can see why you'd want to be in the office, or pardon me, at home. but creative fields, news broadcasts. There's a whole other world out there of jobs that can't or shouldn't or won't be done in a remote setting. Right.

Scott Burke in Halifax. How much is the desire of governments to have people back in the office because they signed long-term leases for office space? and not about increasing productivity. I read a study that productivity increased during the pandemic. However, it was because people worked later into the evening because they felt guilty when they made the kids lunch and took the dog for a walk while they were supposed to be working. I wonder if those are the same studies you were talking about right before the break.

I don't know. I didn't see that. John R. Davis in Ivrisor-Lelac, Quebec, that's in the Laurentians. There should be training given for people working from home because initially it is quite a change without people realizing what they are dealing with. People spend too much time commuting to the office. When there, a lot of time is wasted in chats, useless meetings, etc. Management can't stand not being in control of their management. employees. Management needs training on how to learn to create trust and how to better manage online. A good direct comparison between John's point and Scott's point of how much time you

waste and walking the dog or making your kid lunch versus chatting with your co-worker in the cubicle next to you. Peter Hackett in Stowville, Ontario. Remote work delivers measurable financial gains. Statistics Canada reports most teleworkers are as productive or more productive than in-office staff, boosting organizational performance and shareholder returns. Reduced commuting lowers infrastructure strain and taxpayer spending on road maintenance. Governments and companies also save millions annually on office, real estate, utilities, and maintenance. Remote work isn't a perk. It's a fiscally responsible strategy that strengthens both public budgets and private sector profitability. Megan Caney in Sims settlement, Nova Scotia, it's about an hour east of Halifax.

The notion that COVID was the beginning of telework is simply not true. As a federal government worker, I've been teleworking three days a week for over 10 years. In 2018, I built a home 50 kilometers away. from the office, knowing I'd only have to go into the city twice a week. With 10 years left to work, do I move? Each way is one and a half hours, three hours a day. Joseph Gainor in Toronto. It's the return to office, not return to work. The policy is a power trip by out-of-touch elites who seek to control and degrade the working class. Flexible work location benefits, worker productivity, family life, cost of living, health outcomes, community engagement,

reduces gridlock and greenhouse gas emissions, and significantly reduces business costs on wasted office space. Let's stop moving backwards. I think we got time for four more here. Eric Weiss in Ottawa. I don't believe there's any substitute for the benefits of face-to-face interaction in a workplace. Building relationships is central to the success of any enterprise, and that is accomplished in-person, making eye contact, observing body language, having coffee together.

That daily contact, whether scheduled or spontaneous, strengthens the understanding that builds teams. The model being reintroduced is prudent, four days at the office and one flex day to work from home if desired. Mark Sonnenberg in Toronto When we call this a return to work, it implies we've been slacking off, which couldn't be further from the truth. We've delivered incredible results from home. What we're really discussing is a return to the office.

Let's be real. Many of us have found our groove and have been more productive without the daily commute. Let's shift our focus to valuing what we achieve, not just occupying a desk. Last two. Jay O'Hara in Calgary. Remote work works, but it isn't one-size-fits-all. It depends on your role, team location, and the task. Mentorship and workshops thrive in person, while heads-down work is

often better remote, especially given distracting office cubicles. I'm against blanket return mandates driven by real estate or a lack of trust. We're adults, hired for our expertise, treat us that way. Let us choose where we're most productive and will deliver. Finally, Ken Getty in Windsor. Federal Public Service employee here, rather than debate the virtues or problems with one way or another, I'll just say that I dread the interruptions in my workplace whilst I'm listening to the bridge. I suppose I'll have to schedule some focus time. Love the pod. Thanks, Ken. Yeah, nice, nice letter, Ken.

Good way to end it. It is a very good way to end it. You know, this was a good program. I mean, these are always good programs on Thursday. I know some people say to me, why do you spend the whole time listening to these letters yet? And I say, why shouldn't I? They have to listen to me the other four days of the week.

I don't want to hear what they have to say. And the thing is week by week by week, these things are terrific. You know, it's kind of looking in on the households across the country who listen to the bridge and listen to other programs and getting their sense of the issues of the day. And it's good for us to hear it, you know, and that's why we're so proud of the fact that we get so many letters from right across the country, coast to coast to coast, as they say, we get them, and it's great.

No kidding. I couldn't say it any better than that. that. Thanks for spending some time with us and this was really fun. This was, this was pretty neat. So we hope that we hope that you liked it and the bridge will be back in 24 hours with Good Talk, Bruce and Chantel, that'll still be on the road. But we'll make sure that, as always, it's a seamless podcast. So thank you again and we'll see you all in 24 hours. Thanks, Willie.