TD Bank is among the latest Canadian companies to announce a return to in-person work four times a week starting this fall, and many workers online are not thrilled with the idea.
Last month, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Bank of Nova Scotia, and Bank of Montreal (BMO) sent out a memo to employees announcing in-person returns up to four times a week starting this September.
The decision follows a North American Return To Office (RTO) trend that has been driving many companies to push away from remote working.
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Now, TD Bank has joined the movement with workers expected to come to the office four days a week, starting this fall.
As part of the new policy, TD says executive staff will be required to commute to the office starting on Oct. 6, while non-executive staff are expected to RTO by Nov. 3, “with some phased-in transitions by region or business.”
“We’ve seen that in-person interaction builds energy and alignment, offers ongoing development and apprenticeship, and strengthens our culture,” a TD spokesperson told Now Toronto in a statement on Thursday.
Many of the companies cite the need for team connection and productivity as some of the reasons behind returning to office, but one HR expert says that companies need to adapt to new work models, including an increase in virtual meetings instead of face-to-face discussions.
With that, many employees have also been raising concerns about whether offices are prepared for more workers to return.
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Meanwhile, TD Bank’s announcement sparked yet another round of backlash online, with many questioning whether it’s actually necessary to return to four days in office, especially for roles that could be done virtually.
“Why join a Teams meeting from home when you can pay to commute and all the other economics of being in office to sit in office and join the Teams meeting there?” one Reddit user sarcastically said.
“The best is joining a Teams meeting where different participants have different rooms booked in the same building,” another user chimed in.
“I read this headline wrong and thought the banks were moving to four-day work weeks. Too bad. That would have been a much better move,” a different user added.
Other users have also been pointing out several annoyances with working in person, including long commute hours, increased traffic, and the associated costs such as gas, parking, transit passes, and buying lunch.
“So stupid, especially for roles that do not face customers. I am in the office if I am needed for a meeting, I get my work done. Why are you forcing me to waste my money on gas, parking, etc? And taking away my precious time to sit in commute traffic?” one Redditor wrote.
“This is why I refuse to work for any of the banks. Not only have they been offering below-market rates, they pull this garbage; and if you have seen traffic in Toronto, you will be commuting f**king two hours before your shift starts and two hours after thanks to that miserable traffic,” another user said.
“I currently work completely WFH for a very established retail company (on their tech team), but I just got an offer from a well-funded tech start up for a similar role but a $40k salary bump, but it’s five times a week in office with no exceptions. It’s a huge salary increase but I don’t think it’s worth my freedom,” a different user added.
