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Remote Work

Source: Smart Commute Toronto

Return to Office: Taking Remote Work to the Next Level - Smart Commute Toronto - 2021-12-08

Section titled “Return to Office: Taking Remote Work to the Next Level - Smart Commute Toronto - 2021-12-08”

Presented by Dorinda

  • Part of Toronto’s climate action strategy to reduce Green House Gases (GHGs)
  • Resources for returning to office at

Advantages of Physical Commute

Section titled “Advantages of Physical Commute”
  • Health benefits, active commute can increase productivity by 15%
  • A commute can:
    • Create psychological, physical, and behavioural boundaries between work and home life.
    • Prevent role spillover
  • Public transit reduces exposure to pollution compared to driving

How to combine physical and hybrid commute? “Fake commute” concept

Section titled “How to combine physical and hybrid commute? “Fake commute” concept”
  • Separate work space/time and home life: example, stop at times and add 30 mins of other activity like 30 minutes of exercise
  • Promotes active lifestyle, could start on a weekend to test it out

Social Benefits of Commuting

Section titled “Social Benefits of Commuting”
  • Active commute increases trust and social capital
    • Sweden study - car commuting saw opposite results - driving caused less trust in people
    • Active / public commute involves direct people interaction that increases trust
  • Experiment - talking to strangers can help you and others feel goods including strangers
  • Group commute - walking or cycling group with your coworkers
  • “Trip-chaining”
    • Running errands on your commute reduces GHG emissions and also helps support the local economy.
    • Combine transportation to multiple places

Putting it all together

Section titled “Putting it all together”
  • Have lunch with a co-worker, walk/active transit with them
  • Bring kids to school, get together with parents and transit together like walking
  • Work outside your home with an active trip and support local business

Productivity

Section titled “Productivity”

Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost everything. A country’s ability to improve its standard of living over time depends almost entirely on its ability to raise its output per worker.

-Paul Krugman The Age of Diminishing Expectations (1994 Nobel Prize in Economics 2008

  • The cost of “productivity” example - Between Feb-Oct 2020, who left and joined the Canadian labour force:
    • 20,600 women left (likely due to caregiving)
    • +68,000 men joined
  • Measuring success:
    • Plan - Speak to team
    • Do - Start small
    • Check - Measure numbers or stories
    • Act - Repeat

Supporting Employees in Remote Work

Section titled “Supporting Employees in Remote Work”
  • 50 to 55 mins meeting gaps
  • Less meetings
  • More informal conversations
  • Audio better than video, allows physical flexibility like care give and walking
  • Core business hours (shorter hours for meetings to allow personal work time)
  • Just ask

”Hotelling” & Hot Desking 101 - Smart Commute Toronto - 2021-11-30

Section titled “”Hotelling” & Hot Desking 101 - Smart Commute Toronto - 2021-11-30”

Presented by Adrienne

Open office

Section titled “Open office”
  • Dedicated to each person, space efficient if everyone attends the office
  • If workforce is only occasionally there:
    • Not efficient
    • Isolating
    • Requires space coordination
    • Physical distancing
Section titled “Trends of 2022”
  • Increased virtual & hybrid meetings
  • Work from home for focus time & solo tasks
    • Need quiet area for short calls
  • Office for collaborative tasks & social time

What is Hoteling & Hot Desking?

Section titled “What is Hoteling & Hot Desking?”
  • Hot desk
    • Unassigned spaces
    • First come first served
    • Flexible
    • Not best for all situations
    • Issues:
      • Preferred spaces hogged by employees
      • Uncertainty where to go
  • Hoteling
    • Reserved space ahead of time
    • Find desks near teammates with special equipment
    • Can make neighbourhoods for teams that work together
    • Like booking a meeting room
    • Good for:
      • Distancing
      • Track occupancy and transparency
      • Geographical flexibility
    • Poor for:
      • Privacy, security
      • Special needs

Hybrid design

Section titled “Hybrid design”
  • Allow dedicated desk, hot desks, bookable rooms, focus rooms, spaces with sit-stand/different hardware, and hotel spaces
  • Allow bookable grouped areas/desks
  • Advantages:
    • Productivity increase
    • Employee happiness
    • GHG savings

Managing a hybrid return

Section titled “Managing a hybrid return”
  • Understand employee needs
    • Use survey, team meetings, organizational meetings
    • Considerations: modified commute, family care impacts
    • Smart Commute has survey template
  • Maximize office space designed for new role
    • Considerations: # of people, # of desk, technology, budget
    • Smart Commute has an Office Hoteling Guide
  • Reserve space for team meetings and training
  • Track usage and adapt
    • Space booking application
    • Low/high demand spaces
    • Climate and budget savings

Resources

Section titled “Resources”
  • Hybrid Work 101
  • Guide to Hybrid Remote Work
  • Return to Office Guide for Employers
  • Office Hotelling Guide
  • Q&A
    • How do we get started?
      • Voluntarily try with a small team
      • There is web software to assist with that
      • You can use existing tools/software to do your management of the hybrid program
        • E.g. Calendar, sign in sheet