Thousands of public, private sector workers will be working from the office again in 2026: Provincial government employees in Alberta, Ontario are headed back full time

Author(s): Morrison, C.

Date: 2026

Resource: CBC News.

The new year will bring some big changes to the rules on in-office work for many employees across the country — including tens of thousands of provincial government staff in Ontario and Alberta, who will soon be required back in the office full time.

As of Jan. 5, Ontario provincial government employees will be expected to work in the office five days per week.

Alberta’s public service is also returning to full-time, in-office work in February to “strengthen collaboration, accountability and service delivery for Albertans,” a spokesperson for the Alberta government said. […]

Catherine Connelly, a professor and business research chair in the department of human resources and management at McMaster University, said more pushback from unions is to be expected in the coming months.

“A lot of their members really like working from home and they want to keep the remote-work options,” Connelly said.

Some employees find remote work helps them save money and be more productive, Connelly noted. Others, she said, may find that remote work undermines their work-life balance or that they’re not able to make as many connections as they would in the workplace.

Connelly said she’s not sure if the private-sector push to increase office staff presence will continue, as companies realize their most talented employees value flexibility.

Companies might also start fine-tuning their remote work policies by adding more rules for staff who do work from home — like requiring child care for kids under a certain age or mandating that employees be reachable for a certain period of time, she said. […]

Go to article View all resources

Related Research Areas: Other Topics