'Bet your dog's missing you': Toronto office's return-to-work posters spark controversy

Can employers force workers back into the office? An employment lawyer says if an employer orders its workers back into the office and an employee refuses, they can be fired.

A downtown Toronto building was forced to remove signage that was meant to welcome employees back to the office last week.

Oxford Properties had placed signs in a building’s lobby, located at 20 Bay Street, "in an attempt to be lighthearted."

One sign reads: "Seriously, we missed you," while another asks: "Miss your sweatpants yet?"

A third sign reads: "Bet your dog's missing you."

Some passersby were less than pleased with the messaging.

“I thought the signs were not very nice to those people who were starting to go back to the office,” the social media user, who shared images of the signs, told CTV News Toronto Tuesday. “My employer has embraced the hybrid model and I’m thankful for that.”

Others on social media expressed disappointment — with one calling the signs “belittling” and “condescending.”

“The dog one would make me turn around and go back home,” one Twitter user wrote.

When reached for comment, Oxford Properties told CTV News Toronto the signage was displayed to “welcome customers back into [the] building."

“Unfortunately, in an attempt to be lighthearted the signage came off as uncaring, which was never our intention. The signage clearly missed the mark and was removed last week as a result,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“The campaign should have not made it into production and we sincerely apologize to any customers, colleagues and members of the public that were offended.”

A survey by the Business Development Bank of Canada last year found that 55 per cent of employees would like to continue to work from home even when the pandemic is over.