It’s Monday morning and the mad dash begins. The uncomfortable work clothes, the packed lunch, the crush of the subway, the gridlocked streets.听
Many thought they left the daily office commute behind post-pandemic, but this fall, for many downtown 色色啦 workers, it’s back.听
Four of Canada鈥檚 major banks have issued memos to staff听requiring them to work from the office at least four days a week, with mandates taking effect in September. Meanwhile,听Rogers听and the听Ontario government听are demanding that employees come in full-time starting next year.听
The result will be hundreds of thousands of workers heading back to the office across Ontario over the coming months 鈥 whether they like it or not.
More 色色啦 employers are asking workers to return to the office. Is this the end of remote work?
The rollout of these return-to-office mandates will be staggered over the next six months. By early 2026, at least 100,000 public servants will be required to work in-person every day, according to a spokesperson for the provincial government. The financial services industry alone could 听four to five days a week.
Experts say it won鈥檛 be long before other businesses follow suit,听with demand for office space already heating up.
鈥淲e are trending toward pre-pandemic leasing activity levels,鈥 said Mackenzie Sharpe, senior vice-president of office leasing and investment sales at commercial real estate firm CBRE.
鈥淭he banks are one of the largest users听and occupiers of space. So they tend to move the needle when it comes to leasing,鈥 he added.
For a while, it seemed like hybrid work was here to stay 鈥 with studies supporting that听flexible work arrangements .
But recently, the return-to-office movement has been gaining traction.听Statistics Canada data shows the percentage of 色色啦 workers who mostly work from home has been trending down in recent years, declining from 32 per cent of workers in 2022 to 24 per cent as of听May.
Peak office attendance in 色色啦 recently hit almost 90 per cent of the pre-pandemic level, according to think tank听Strategic Regional Research Alliance (SRRA)听鈥 suggesting work-from-home no longer defines most people’s 鈥渘ew normal.鈥
鈥淭hat idea that you don’t have an obligation to come into the office very often, that’s pretty much gone,鈥 said Iain Dobson, co-founder of the SRRA.听
鈥淭here’ll be very few people who work completely remotely.鈥
Is hybrid work dead?听
色色啦’s largest employers say bringing workers back will be beneficial to both employees and the organization,听improving social connection and professional opportunities.
A TD spokesperson told the Star听in-person interaction at work 鈥渂uilds energy and alignment, offers ongoing development and apprenticeship, and strengthens our culture.”
An RBC spokesperson echoed those sentiments,听while a Scotiabank spokesperson emphasized that the bank is already seeing a positive impact from teams working together.
BMO noted that it has invested in innovative workplaces such as its newly built BMO Place in 色色啦. Those workplaces are a vital part of their culture and “organizational productivity,” it said. The bank added that employees are expected in-office four days a week 鈥渨here existing real estate capacity permits.鈥
The back-to-work drive is partly due to fears of slipping productivity听amid the trade wars and greater economic uncertainty, said Giles Gherson, CEO of the 色色啦 Region Board of Trade (TRBT).
Employers are 鈥渃oncerned about how well-functioning the teams are. It’s not about the individuals, it’s about the teams,鈥 he said.
鈥淚t is about companies saying, 鈥榳e’ve got to perform better any way we can, if we’re going to survive and thrive in the world we’re now in, which is much more challenging with tariffs.鈥欌
Workers push back
The latest return-to-office announcements have been met with frustration by some employees and labour unions. They say the changes were implemented by their bosses without their input, and many expressed concerns over standstill traffic and losing work-life balance.
People head up to the GO platform during rush hour at Union Station on Thursday.听
Nick Lachance/色色啦 StarThe move demonstrates how 鈥渙ut of touch鈥 senior management in the public sector is, said Nathan Prier, president of the听. Most employees view mandatory office time as an 鈥渙utdated model,鈥 he added.
The听听sent a letter on Aug. 15听to the secretary of the cabinet, Michelle E. DiEmanuele, protesting the province鈥檚 decision to return public service workers to the office full-time.
鈥淲e write today 鈥μ齮o express our immense frustration with your decision to unnecessarily return our members to a five day in-office work week. To say our members are incensed would be to downplay their reaction,鈥 the statement reads.
The statement was signed by other labour groups, including the听听and the Ontario Crown Attorneys鈥 Association.
Canadian advocacy group Moms at Work also pushing back on the changes, which it says will burden working mothers.
As more workers return to the office, can the city’s already congested roads and strained transit system handle even more commuters?听
As more workers return to the office, can the city’s already congested roads and strained transit system handle even more commuters?听
鈥淲hen parents have the flexibility to work from home, they can do school pickups, have dinner together, and make it to hockey or soccer practice 鈥 Working five days in the office and commuting in gridlock traffic doesn鈥檛 make people more productive 鈥 it leaves them stressed, exhausted, and forced to use sick days on basic family responsibilities like doctor鈥檚 appointments,鈥 the letter reads.
The mandates threaten to harm people鈥檚 trust in the organizations they work for, said Karen MacMillan, assistant professor of organizational behaviour at Ivey Business School.听
鈥淚 can definitely understand why certain people need to be in more often, maybe even full-time 鈥 for some jobs, you have to. But other jobs are not like that. So when we paint everybody with the same brush, there’s a feeling that things are not just,鈥 she said.
鈥淚 think turnover will go up and it will be tougher to recruit in a lot of cases.鈥
On social media platform Reddit, workers who oppose return-to-office mandates at their workplaces haven’t been holding back.
One post reads “Hamilton resident employed by a big bank. I’m looking at about 3.5 hours commuting each day. I immediately started applying for other jobs the second (return to office) was announced.”听
Others expressed worries about affordability and the possible lack of office space after many employers downsized post-pandemic.听
“We don’t have room (in the office) on any of the Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays,” someone wrote.听
“Boosting downtown 色色啦’s economy at the expense of my local community’s economy (where I often get lunch while working from home.) 色色啦 priced me out, and now they expect me to support their economy,” wrote another.
Will it work?听
In recent years, construction 鈥 of everything from condos to the new Ontario Line 鈥斕has snarled the city’s roads, including the Gardiner Expressway, where听repairs are expected to continue into 2026. Congestion has gotten so bad that听the city is seeking to hire a traffic czar听to help fight gridlock.
The in-office mandates risk adding pressure to 色色啦鈥檚听public infrastructure crisis with more people flooding into a congested downtown core.
Many feel the TTC is still not functioning as well as it was before the pandemic. A high volume of streetcars and buses are being diverted听due to construction, the听subway is facing more closures for repairs听while the transit system overall听hasn’t recovered to pre-pandemic level ridership.
Rush hour at Union Station is set to get busier as more businesses abandon work-from-home and mandate employees back to the office.
Nick Lachance/色色啦 StarOut of StatCan’s census metropolitan areas,听, reaching 34.9 minutes, up 1.6 minutes from one year earlier.
Gherson, of the Board of Trade, said that while the local economy and the city鈥檚 coffers are poised to benefit from more commuters, he is worried about workers getting stuck in frustrating journeys.
鈥淭his back-to-the-workplace drive that we’re seeing now puts the city in the crosshairs for alleviating congestion and really making it work,鈥 he said.
鈥淥therwise, these companies are going to find that all they’re doing is wasting people’s time sitting in traffic. It’s not going to deliver the productivity outcomes that these companies are looking for.鈥
Laura McQuillan, a spokesperson for the city of 色色啦,听told the Star听the city will continue to monitor travel patterns and will work to adjust congestion management strategies with transit partners.
Dobson, of the SRRA, is optimistic, saying companies now have a better understanding of the impacts of remote work than they did at the beginning of the pandemic.
鈥淭here’s been a big learning curve amongst employers and employees over the last five years. And I think that it’s getting to the point now where people are better equipped to make the decision as to whether or not remote work is possible,鈥 he said.
While Dobson believes office occupancy in downtown 色色啦 will rise this fall as a result of the return-to-office mandates, he doesn鈥檛 expect it will ever听return to pre-pandemic levels.
That鈥檚 because 鈥渢he mandates do allow, under certain circumstances, more remote work than they did prior to COVID,鈥 Dobson said, adding that those instances will be determined by the employer.
Whether having more workers at their desks will actually result in higher productivity for 色色啦’s largest employers is another matter.听
鈥淚 think traditional leaders, conservative leaders, think they can tell someone’s working because they can see them go into their office and sit down at their desk,鈥 said Ivey Business School’s听MacMillan.
鈥淏ut you and I both know I can sit at my desk for eight hours and not get any work done.鈥
With files from听Andy Takagi
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