MPI sets remote work plan, orders hundreds back into office By: Chris Kitching Posted: 6:30 PM CST Friday, Dec. 15, 2023

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This article was published 15/12/2023 (1033 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hundreds of Manitoba Public Insurance employees have been ordered back to their downtown Winnipeg office at least part-time — the latest public employer to demand staff return to the workplace.

MPI’s new hybrid program, which takes effect in February, will affect an estimated 400 workers. The union that represents them says many are upset with the change.

“We understand that this will affect their day-to-day lives,” Kyle Ross, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, said in a statement Friday. “After the prolonged strike at MPI, we would have expected that they would do everything they could to rebuild relationships and not further upset their workforce.”

A 10-week strike involving about 1,700 employees ended in November, when an overwhelming majority voted to accept a new contract.

Under the new program, MPI managers in hybrid roles will be in the office at least three days a week, while staff will be on a rotation requiring three days in the office one week and two days the next, said spokeswoman Kristy Rydz.

Contact centre employees will remain fully remote.

“This structure will blend remote and on-site work to help support work-life balance while providing more clarity and consistency for employees,” Rydz wrote in an email.

She said the program will encourage more in-person collaboration and contribute to the “vitality” of downtown, while bringing MPI in line with other Crown corporations and large-scale employers.

The potential return of hundreds more workers to Cityplace, where MPI is based, is being welcomed by the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone.

“After the prolonged strike at MPI, we would have expected that they would do everything they could to rebuild relationships and not further upset their workforce.”–Kyle Ross

“The big focus for us has been trying to get people downtown all hours of the day,” executive director Kate Fenske said Friday. “The more workers here, the better it is for businesses, and the more people here, the safer it is.”

Many downtown businesses are still struggling post-pandemic and need more customers, she added.

By the end of September, area office vacancy remained at 17 per cent, according to Downtown Winnipeg BIZ.

The organization reported 914,000 visitors in the third quarter of 2023, a nine per cent increase compared with the same period in 2022.

“We have seen it pick up this fall,” said Fenske.

About 1,800 Manitoba Hydro employees are based at the public utility’s downtown headquarters on Portage Avenue. They are required to spend at least three days a week in the office.

Those who are eligible and interested can work remotely Mondays and Wednesdays, said spokesman Bruce Owen.

“These two days were chosen in March 2022, as they were found to be the best match for operational needs across the enterprise, providing more flexibility to employees than was available pre-pandemic,” he wrote in an email.

About 350 employees, or roughly 20 per cent, work in the office tower on Mondays and Wednesdays — some by choice and others because their attendance is required.

Of Manitoba’s nearly 12,000 civil servants, about 25 per cent (or 3,070 employees) worked at least one day per month under a flexible work policy, as of Oct. 31, a provincial government spokesman said.

Of all core employees, less than 0.5 per cent worked fully from home.

Eligible staff can request to work remotely and/or adjust their hours for work-life balance purposes, the spokesman said.

A current directive requires employees to work the majority of their time in their designated workplaces, he added.

“The more workers here, the better it is for businesses, and the more people here, the safer it is.”–Kate Fenske

Most MLL employees have duties that require them to be in workplaces, such as casinos and Liquor Mart retail locations. About 500 of 3,200 employees have a hybrid model, according to the organization.

As a result, MLL consolidated its office space from three locations to one (1555 Buffalo Pl.), where 90 per cent of staff have flexible arrangements.

Efficiency Manitoba, a Crown corporation whose April 2020 launch coincided with the start of the pandemic, has a virtual working policy for its roughly 80 employees.

Some are primarily in the office or remote, while others have a mix. None work remotely on a full-time basis, said spokeswoman Kelsey Thomas.

About 25 per cent of staff are in the office on any given day, she wrote in an email. “Under our virtual work policy, all of our employees are required and expected to be in the office whenever operational requirements necessitate such.”

The policy has helped to attract and retain staff, while also contributing to job satisfaction, Thomas said.

The City of Winnipeg introduced a flexible workplace program for eligible employees in May 2022.

In September, a city report said about 1,550 employees, or 15 per cent of the workforce, continued to work from home. Of those, 275 were working remotely full-time.

The report said flexible working arrangements brought benefits — such as improved efficiencies, cost savings, high engagement from staff and reduced road congestion — without sacrificing productivity.

Where possible, the hybrid model has been a very popular choice for employers following a pandemic in which many people became used to working from home, said Raymond Lee, a professor of organizational behaviour in the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business.

Flexible arrangements allow employees to save time on commuting or — for some — to set their own schedules when they work from home, while also giving them the ability to be face-to-face with bosses and colleagues in the office, he said.

“It gives them the benefits of both worlds,” said Lee. “This is part of a larger discussion as to how work can be more user-friendly to workers.”

If workers feel they don’t have any say or flexibility, or if decisions and driven from the top down, it could hurt motivation, morale and performance, the professor added.

“It’s good to have open dialogue.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca