On August 19, 2020, we sent a letter to Minister Anand demanding a stop to the office conversion process until COVID-related health issues have been eradicated from federal workplaces.

Letter to Minister Anand

We have raised this matter on a number of occasions over the past few months. Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to obtain an answer regarding the failure of the Return to Workplace protocol to take the lessons learned during the pandemic into consideration in the design of future government workplaces.

The unions of the National Joint Council (NJC) Bargaining Agents share our concern and our letter was submitted on their behalf.

We have recently received information from our members that the federal public service is planning to continue with these conversions in years ahead. In one particularly alarming case, some of them were given a presentation about an upcoming conversion where they were told not to worry because “only half of you will be in these offices anyway” and “everything will be cleaned regularly so you’ll be fine.” This kind of cavalier approach is entirely inappropriate.

Planning for future conversions must also include much more rigorous health protocols, as well as meaningful consultations with Bargaining Agents. In the majority of cases now, we are not being consulted in the development of the open office design.

For years, we have opposed open office design based on the well-documented health, noise and productivity impacts on workers. In the context of the pandemic, we are now concerned that the federal public service is using this as an opportunity to further reduce its real estate footprint squeezing more workers into ever-smaller open areas. This will only exacerbate health and safety issues.

As a part of our response to The Government of Canada’s move to open workplace design, we conducted a random survey of members to learn more about their experiences.

We’ve found that the members who have moved to the new workplace configuration, are finding it harder to give their best service to Canadians.

• 62% say their productivity and efficiency is worse;
• 79% say they have a harder time focusing and concentrating;
• 62% say access to sufficient workspace for their professional work has been made worse.

“The government is making it harder for us to provide services to Canadians. Our members need to be able to concentrate and work productively but the government’s workplace reconfiguration is undermining their ability to work.” said Debi Daviau, PIPSC President.

When the government first announced their plans for new workplace configurations, the promises sounded good. Workplaces were supposed to become healthier and better for professionals. But the implementation seems to have become about cutting costs and jamming people into smaller and smaller spaces.

We know that in about ¾ of instances, workplace reconfiguration is taking place without any consultation with employees and with no pilot projects. Subsequently, the needs of staff with identified ergonomic requirements have not been met.

The spaces are undermining professionalism. From mental health to productivity, from collaboration to privacy, on every account, our members report that the new configuration has made things worse. 

If your office has already undergone workplace re-configuration, how has it impacted your ability to provide your professional service to Canadians?

Let us know!

The Government of Canada has begun to move to open office workplace design in some offices across the country. There are PIPSC members already working in this type of office and others whose offices will soon be converted.

As a part of our strategy to respond to this change, we have surveyed members to collect data on their experiences. Information on the consultation, implementation and the ongoing impact of this change in office design is crucial.

A random sample of PIPSC members received the survey by email and the survey is now closed. The PIPSC Open Workplace Survey Working Committee will oversee the analysis of this data and build strategic next steps based on the results.

For further information please contact Sean O’Reilly, Acting Vice-President and chair of the Open Workplace Survey Working Committee at openworkplaces@pipsc.ca.