'Non-issue' if Omicron delays return to office, Dream Office REIT CEO says
BNN Bloomberg
A potentially delayed return to the office due to an imminent threat of the COVID-19 Omicron variant should be treated as a “non-issue,” according to the head of a leading Canadian real estate investment trust.
A potentially delayed return to the office due to an imminent threat of the COVID-19 Omicron variant should be treated as a “non-issue,” according to the head of a leading Canadian real estate investment trust.
On Tuesday, Michael Cooper, chief executive officer and chair of Dream Office REIT, said while the spread of a new variant could be cause for concern, he’s not too worried about it.
“So, I’m getting my booster shot tomorrow. I’m going to stay low for seven days. I think everybody should,” Cooper said in an interview. “But I don’t think we should be worried about whether people come back Jan. 4 or Jan. 15 or Jan. 30. I think that’s a non-issue.”
Cooper is another top office landlord responding to urgent calls from multiple public health authorities about allowing employees to continue working remotely.
Michael Emory, CEO of Allied Properties REIT, said Monday that advice from Ontario’s chief medical officer about working from home is “odd and amorphous” because it doesn’t clarify key details about where workers are “most optimal.”
Cooper agrees, but only partly. For him, the struggle to hire for talent amid cross-sector labour shortages is a bigger issue than returning to the office.
