Premier Wab Kinew believes hybrid work arrangements are disruptive
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has said that he would want to see more civil servants coming to work physically in the office, hinting at possible changes in current work arrangements, as reported in an article by CBC News.
Kinew explained that as frontline workers need to physically be at work every day, their managers should be doing the same.
“I would ask, 'How can you manage somebody who has to show up in person if you're not showing up in person?’ I think it's tough for us to credibly say we're going to improve the culture, or we're going to match the commitment of people on the front lines, if we're not showing up ourselves,” said Kinew.
While the premier said that he was yet to announce any changes, his government will be set on building a consensus in the coming months regarding the current work arrangements. However, he was keen to share his thoughts regarding hybrid work.
Hybrid work arrangements are disruptive
“Just as a workflow thing, I don't think hybrid is good. It's very disruptive if you have a creative conversation around a room of five people, and then there's four people jumping in on a remote call type of setup,” said Kinew.
Notably, Shared Health, a provincial health organisation overseeing the healthcare delivery in Manitoba, has spent more than $1 million a year on office space that is no longer being used. The majority of its 890 corporate and administrative were still primarily working in a remote set up.
Kinew stated that this was an issue that the province needed to put into consideration. He noted that the bigger concern was the current culture of people managing frontliners who show up to work in person everyday while not doing so themselves.
However, the premier believed that there will still be flexibility regardless of what will be agreed upon as there were still scenarios where remote work will be beneficial for workers.
“But the idea that hybrid work should be the default is something that we need to revisit,” said Kinew.
