Council votes against return to office for City of Regina employees

A proposal to have all City of Regina employees return to office for work was turned down by city council on Wednesday.

In a vote of 8 to 3, Regina city council voted against the mandate of having all city employees in positions designated as in-office or hybrid, return to full-time in-office work by August.

Ward 10 Coun. Clark Bezo, who put the motion forward, voted in favour, in addition to councillors Dan Rashovich and George Tsiklis.

The proposed motion stated the mandate would be of significant interest in the “economic revitalization” of the city’s downtown with the assumption that increased foot traffic would support small businesses, restaurants, and service providers in the area.

“Bringing city office employees back to in-person to the workforce provides a powerful opportunity to strengthen leadership, improve collaboration,” Bezo said during the meeting, referring to federal and provincial government employees returning to in-person work.

“ … Returning to the workplace is the most easiest and effective first step a city can take to address a host of challenges.”

The Regina Downtown Business Improvement District and the Regina & District Chamber of Commerce wrote letters to council echoing that a consistent presence of workers would bring “a more safe, active, and vibrant community.”

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On Wednesday, delegates voiced their concerns about the mandate to council stating members who work from home are on a hybrid schedule and having them return to the office full-time would raise issues surrounding parking, mental health, limited available office space and more.

“Demanding city workers return to the roads means more traffic, less parking and slower commutes for everyone in an area of the city which is already quite congested. It’s also a safety concern during inclement weather,” Ian Cantello, president of Regina Civic Middle Management Association, told council.

“ … As for modern research and best practice, numerous studies show that work-from-home improves work-life balance, employee retention and, importantly, keeps the same productivity or improves it.”

The change in policy would have affected 351 of 3,039 city employees.

Mayor Chad Bachynski said the vote was based on a comprehensive discussion between councillors on what it means for city employees who work remotely.

“What I heard very clearly is that, I’d say, we have a pretty good handle on what that means for the City of Regina whether it’s the roles that would be appropriate to allow a hybrid or a remote work arrangement, what it means for competitiveness, what it means for space savings, and utilizing desk space for multiple employees,” Bachynski told reporters.

“A lot of information I think it was good to get that out there, but at the end of the day it’s an operational item that I heard very clearly, especially from our acting city manager, that we have pretty good insight on to as well as our executive leadership team.”

He added that the focus on attracting people to live downtown is also something council has in mind in the effort of bringing life back into the city’s core.