N.S. government orders 3,500 employees back to the office

Nova Scotia government employees who have been allowed to work from home for the past four years are being told they must return to the office full time starting Oct. 15.

The news has sent shock waves through the bureaucracy, especially among the 3,500 non-union employees who have reworked their lives around the flexible, albeit unwritten work arrangement. Some were working as many as three days a week from home.

CBC News has received emails from some of those workers who said the government has not explained the rationale for the sudden decision. Those employees have asked the CBC not to identify them over fears of work repercussions.

According to a document provided to government departments and shared with CBC News, employees received an email this week informing them of the change.

"Our [non-union] employees are a critical component of the structure of government — many have supervisory duties, lead teams, manage complex files and issues and provide support inside government to ensure policy and programs function effectively," the internal message said.

"Starting October 15, to support a culture of service excellence for Nova Scotians, provincial excluded employees (EC) will be generally expected to be in the workplace for the full work week."

Twila Grosse, the minister responsible for the Public Service Commission, said the decision to call the employees back to the office came as a result of "difficulty in terms of managers managing folks from different places" and to help new employees in the orientation process by developing relationships and getting to know their colleagues.

Grosse described the pushback managers have been receiving from employees as "nothing that's out of the ordinary."

She said there will still be some flexibility for workers for whom a return to the office would pose a hardship.

"Each manager will discuss it with their employees, as necessary," said Grosse. "Each situation has to be judged or looked at on their own merit." 

NDP Leader Claudia Chender called the move "strange" and suggested it would exacerbate downtown traffic congestion and make life difficult for parents.

"I think that it's likely the province will lose valuable employees," said Chender.  "I spoke to someone today in that situation who said, 'I'm sick of this. I worked all through the pandemic. I did everything they asked. This sends a signal that they don't trust me.'"

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said the government should be focused on whether its employees are doing their work rather than where they are doing it.

"If they're going to require staff to do this, there needs to be some clear evidence to suggest it's going to improve productivity," said Churchill. "That's what taxpayers want. That's what the public wants."