An increase in overall employee satisfaction, less supervision when employees don't have their manager or supervisor looking over their shoulder, and increasing safety by reducing infectious disease risks were some of the most obvious advantages of working remotely, says Michael Richards, a partner and co-chair of the Canadian Employment and Labour Group at DLA Piper.
Hybrid work comes with benefits
An increase in overall employee satisfaction, less supervision when employees don't have their manager or supervisor looking over their shoulder, and increasing safety by reducing infectious disease risks were some of the most obvious advantages of working remotely, says Michael Richards, a partner and co-chair of the Canadian Employment and Labour Group at DLA Piper.
He told its ‘Canada Employment and Labour Update’ that these were some of the obvious benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, now there are additional benefits. “Believe it or not, not everyone likes their co-worker. Remote and hybrid work environments also allow individuals to avoid negative work environments in the office,” he said. There’s also an improved work-life balance without losing productivity as employees save time by not having to commute to work.
Then there are the cost savings for the employer and employee. Companies may no longer need office space. Employees are saving money by not having to commute to work.
Despite the positives, there are negatives which may prompt employers to require their employees to return to the office, he said. For example, employers don't have the same ability to supervise their employees and there may be decreased productivity and accountability. “No one's looking over the employees’ shoulders, safety issues become easier to manage, and we have a loss of a less collaborative environment,” said Richards.
As people start to return to the office and as companies consider policies requiring people to be in the office on a regular basis, Cameron Fynney, an associate at the law firm, said “we have issues arising around constructive dismissal allegations with people saying that ‘no, it's now a term of my employment that I get to work remotely and you can't make me return’.” These requests for accommodation may be based on family status, disability, or personal circumstances that may not fall within human rights. For example, somebody has relocated to farther away and their commute is now much longer.
There's also issues with performance management. Can managers consistently manage performance when people are working remotely and how is that addressed, he asked.
This can prompt allegations of discrimination and harassment when “people are required to come back at the office because of performance issues, said Fynney. “Allegations are made that somebody's being targeted or harassed by their supervisor because they're required to come into the office, when truly the goal of this is to try and help them improve their performance and manage the performance issues.”
There's other issues, of course. Employees may move to other jurisdictions either within Canada or outside of Canada creating issues on how policies apply and then issues around ensuring that there's a safe work environment.
As well, the issue of costs come up from remote work, “particularly where remote work has been fully endorsed,” he said. “Employees are looking for compensation for things like internet and phone costs and for the equipment needed to set up the office at home particularly if the company is now saving money in those regards.”
One of the things they emphasize with remote hybrid working is making sure the company has clear policies. “Having those kinds of policies in place or having those terms in employment agreements is very important,” he said.
