The Department of Public Works says taxpayers could save a fortune on office space if federal employees continue to work from home. The department has estimated 230,000 staff are working remotely..“Infrastructure is the second largest expense to the Government of Canada after salary expenses,” said a briefing note Evolution Of The Office Portfolio. The department is the biggest landlord in the country managing 32,000 federal buildings, by official estimate..“Studies undertaken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic showed existing office space was underutilized by at least 40% and considered inefficient with annual operating and maintenance costs of approximately $2.4 billion,” wrote staff. “By enabling a hybrid model of work the department has an opportunity to optimize and modernize the portfolio (and) transform the public service.”.Blacklock's Reporter said management claimed it could save $1.3 billion a year by cutting office space 40%. “The department continues to explore options,” said the briefing note..Cabinet from the outbreak of the pandemic ordered most employees out of federal buildings as a health precaution. “Enough is enough,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said March 23, 2020. “Go home and stay home. This is what we all need to be doing.”.The figure of 230,000 federal employees continuing to work from home was disclosed by Public Works Minister Filomena Tassi in June 10 testimony at the House of Commons government operations committee..“To give a sense of the magnitude of this or the scale, prior to the pandemic there was an average of 20,000 simultaneous remote connections,” said Minister Tassi, referring to the number of employees remotely contacting central IT networks. “That’s daily. During the pandemic we have seen the daily average exceeding 240,000 simultaneous remote connects during the first year.”.“Based on the last six months the average remote connections have now stabilized around 230,000,” said Tassi. “So to enable virtual work Shared Services Canada moved very quickly, implemented major upgrades to the enterprise network, government-wide internet and network security.”.Few private sector employees stayed home during the pandemic, according to a Statistics Canada report last November 1. “The sustainability of working from home hinges not only on employees’ productivity and preferences for working from home but also on how employers feel about it,” said the report Working From Home In Canada: What Have We Learned So Far?.Only 39 % of the workers nationwide “hold jobs that can plausibly be carried out from home,” wrote analysts. Ottawa at the peak of Covid had the largest number of stay-home employees at 47.5 % of the workforce compared to 44% in Toronto, 43% in Montréal, 34% in Calgary, 32% in Vancouver, 31% in Halifax, 28% in Edmonton, 26% in Fredericton, 25% in Winnipeg, 23% in Regina and St. John’s and 19% in Charlottetown.
The Department of Public Works says taxpayers could save a fortune on office space if federal employees continue to work from home. The department has estimated 230,000 staff are working remotely..“Infrastructure is the second largest expense to the Government of Canada after salary expenses,” said a briefing note Evolution Of The Office Portfolio. The department is the biggest landlord in the country managing 32,000 federal buildings, by official estimate..“Studies undertaken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic showed existing office space was underutilized by at least 40% and considered inefficient with annual operating and maintenance costs of approximately $2.4 billion,” wrote staff. “By enabling a hybrid model of work the department has an opportunity to optimize and modernize the portfolio (and) transform the public service.”.Blacklock's Reporter said management claimed it could save $1.3 billion a year by cutting office space 40%. “The department continues to explore options,” said the briefing note..Cabinet from the outbreak of the pandemic ordered most employees out of federal buildings as a health precaution. “Enough is enough,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said March 23, 2020. “Go home and stay home. This is what we all need to be doing.”.The figure of 230,000 federal employees continuing to work from home was disclosed by Public Works Minister Filomena Tassi in June 10 testimony at the House of Commons government operations committee..“To give a sense of the magnitude of this or the scale, prior to the pandemic there was an average of 20,000 simultaneous remote connections,” said Minister Tassi, referring to the number of employees remotely contacting central IT networks. “That’s daily. During the pandemic we have seen the daily average exceeding 240,000 simultaneous remote connects during the first year.”.“Based on the last six months the average remote connections have now stabilized around 230,000,” said Tassi. “So to enable virtual work Shared Services Canada moved very quickly, implemented major upgrades to the enterprise network, government-wide internet and network security.”.Few private sector employees stayed home during the pandemic, according to a Statistics Canada report last November 1. “The sustainability of working from home hinges not only on employees’ productivity and preferences for working from home but also on how employers feel about it,” said the report Working From Home In Canada: What Have We Learned So Far?.Only 39 % of the workers nationwide “hold jobs that can plausibly be carried out from home,” wrote analysts. Ottawa at the peak of Covid had the largest number of stay-home employees at 47.5 % of the workforce compared to 44% in Toronto, 43% in Montréal, 34% in Calgary, 32% in Vancouver, 31% in Halifax, 28% in Edmonton, 26% in Fredericton, 25% in Winnipeg, 23% in Regina and St. John’s and 19% in Charlottetown.
