Government concerned about public scrutiny in mandating workers back to office

Federal officials pointed to concerns about «public scrutiny» when the government mandated workers back into the office, even as workers reported they felt more productive working from home, documents show.

Documents prepared by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) before the announcements of return to the office mandates were released to the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) under an access to information request, and shared with CBC News.

The documents show how TBS looked at global trends, raised concerns about public trust and had very little internal information on productivity when deciding to mandate workers back to the office.

The union says the documents point to the lack of justification for the mandated return to the office.

«They had an opportunity here to really modernize the public service and move it forward, and yet here we are talking about cookie cutter approaches, butts in seats, and we're not really talking about services to those who reside in Canada,» said Sharon DeSousa, president of PSAC.

Shifting options

Almost a full year before the three-day-a-week mandate was announced, a slide deck recommended a «flexible first» option «without prescribed office parameters» for those who can do their work remotely.

That option is touted for potential gains in productivity, the diversity and geographic distribution of talent in the public service, and reducing the government's office and environmental footprint.

The deck, prepared for the office of the chief human resource officer in May 2022, notes the «flexible first» option could be disruptive for management and «could be subject to negative public scrutiny.»

Option 2 was an «ad hoc» model that was primarily on site but accepted some telework, and option