Despite the fact that over 97% of remote workers have indicated that they would like to continue to work remotely on at least a part time basis for the remainder of their career, Elon Musk threw an electric-powered gauntlet earlier this week by circulating an email with the subject line: Remote work is no longer acceptable (sic), in which he stated “anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla.”
And while rash decisions and broad, sweeping statements are nothing new for Musk (remember that time…actually, never mind, no time to go down that vast rabbit hole), this is a nonetheless interesting decision given the current labour shortage impacting North America.
Closer to home, remote and hybrid work continues to be in-demand for many employees. And given that 90% of teleworkers report consistent, or even higher, rates of productivity, the case for accommodating remote work (where possible due to the nature of the role) seems airtight.
Where do some of Calgary’s bigger employers stand on the whole remote work spectrum?
• City of Calgary: starting with the City itself, their website states “the City of Calgary endeavours to create the most productive work environment possible. Flexible work also helps achieve a productive work environment by improving employee retention, reducing absenteeism, improving employee morale, and increasing customer satisfaction.” Compressed work weeks, job sharing, and telework are all options made available to City employees.
• Benevity: unicorn darling Benevity makes hybrid work available to its more than 1000 Benevity-ites according to its website
• Enbridge: at the FP500 2021 top Calgary-based company based on revenue, 68% claim to be able to work remotely with 17% having the ability to work fully remote
• Birchcliff Energy: CEO Jeff Tonken is not in favour of remote work and has stated that “I guarantee you that team will work better together if they are in the same place physically”
• Dow: has a spot on the Great Places to Work list in part due to their embracing of hybrid work models
• ATB Financial: one of the only other Alberta-based organizations to hold a spot on the Great Places to work list due to their hybrid environment
• SAP Canada: Vice-President Megan Smith has stated “Most talent, at this point, expects some degree of flexibility in where and when they work…so organizations that really want to attract the best talent are going to want to offer some degree of that.”
If you switched to remote work during the pandemic, are you hoping to continue working remotely? Is your employer supportive of a remote work or hybrid working environment? Let us know!
