N.S. government orders 3,500 employees back to the office

Nova Scotia government employees who have been allowed to work from home, some for almost a decade, are being told they must return to the office full time starting Oct. 15.

The news has sent shock waves through the bureaucracy, especially among the 3,500 non-union employees who have reworked their lives around the flexible work conditions. Some were working as many as three days a week from home.

CBC News has received emails from some of those workers who said the government has not explained the rationale for the sudden decision. They have asked not to be identified over fears of work repercussions.

According to a document provided to government departments and shared with CBC News, employees were informed of the change this week.

"Our [non-union] employees are a critical component of the structure of government — many have supervisory duties, lead teams, manage complex files and issues and provide support inside government to ensure policy and programs function effectively," the internal message said.

"Starting Oct. 15, to support a culture of service excellence for Nova Scotians, provincial excluded employees will be generally expected to be in the workplace for the full work week."

On Thursday, government communications adviser Geoff Tobin told CBC News that "there is no Flexible Working Arrangement policy in the civil service."

However, several government employees who have contacted CBC News in recent days said they have long been part of a flexible work program called FlexNS. 

In response to CBC's request for more information, Tobin said Friday that government departments have been offering work-from-home options for almost a decade.

"In 2015, FlexNS was launched by the Public Service Commission as a voluntary program that departments — or, units within them — could adopt at their discretion," Tobin wrote in an email. "Across government, departments or units may have adopted the program at different times.

"Data that is currently collected corporately does not specifically demonstrate whether an employee works remotely. However, we estimate that roughly 50% of employees are in some kind of flexible working arrangement."

According to the latest budget documents, the Finance Department forecast the province would have 11,324 employees in 2024-25.

An email within the Department of Health to "officially roll out the Flexible Working Arrangements (FWA) program" was sent to staff on Dec. 16, 2020, from then deputy minister of health Kevin Orrell. The email described the program as "a condensed version of the FlexNS program to modernize when, where, and how we work."

"If the pandemic has taught us anything, we have learned that we are resilient people and we care about doing a good job," Orrell wrote in the email obtained by CBC News. "We have demonstrated that we can maintain our productivity and meet our deliverables while working from home."

Minister says there's still flexibility 

Twila Grosse, the minister responsible for the Public Service Commission, said the decision to call the employees back to the office came as a result of "difficulty in terms of managers managing folks from different places" and to help new employees in the orientation process by developing relationships and getting to know their colleagues.

Grosse described the pushback managers have been receiving from employees as "nothing that's out of the ordinary."

She said there will still be some flexibility for workers for whom a return to the office would pose a hardship.

"Each manager will discuss it with their employees, as necessary," said Grosse. "Each situation has to be judged or looked at on their own merit." 

But those accommodations are likely to be rare, given the description offered by Tobin for allowing employees to keep working from home.

"If an employee has risks to their health that can only be mitigated through a flexible work arrangement, the employee should speak with their manager," wrote Tobin. "If an employee has a documented and approved accommodation on file with the Public Service Commission that includes provisions of flexible work arrangements, those accommodations will continue to be evaluated through the accommodation and return-to-work process."

NDP Leader Claudia Chender called the move "strange" and suggested it would exacerbate downtown traffic congestion and make life difficult for parents.

"I think that it's likely the province will lose valuable employees," said Chender.  "I spoke to someone today in that situation who said, 'I'm sick of this. I worked all through the pandemic. I did everything they asked. This sends a signal that they don't trust me.'"

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said the government should be focused on whether its employees are doing their work rather than where they are doing it.

"If they're going to require staff to do this, there needs to be some clear evidence to suggest it's going to improve productivity," said Churchill. "That's what taxpayers want. That's what the public wants."

The edict does not apply to the thousands of government workers who are unionized.

Asked if that might change, Grosse said, "That's left at the bargaining table."

She would not say if the government has the power to order those employees back.

Despite the move, the Houston government continues to try to lure people allowed to work remotely to relocate to the province. A campaign started in 2020 remains active.