As someone who has worked from home for almost 20 years, I’ve been racking my brain about the advantages of RTO - the only one I can come up with is free toilet paper...and it’s not exactly Cashmere, is it?

There are folks who truly believe that public servants are totally slacking off at home. “My taxes pay their salaries - they should go back to the office so we can be sure they’re working!” These are not children we’re talking about, they’re adults - do you really think their every move needs to be monitored?

Commuting is bad for the environment no matter what method you use, time (I know people who commute for 15 hours a week), cubicle farms (where productivity goes to die), having video meetings with people elsewhere in the building. Oh, and let’s not forget the pesky illnesses going around.

The world changed with Covid – and the majority of public servants hit the ground running. Those who had been told that WFH was never going to happen were thrilled how quickly things got up and running. They were also happier, more productive (StatsCan says productivity went up 4.5% from 2019 to 2023), saved money and supported their own local businesses.

Downtown businesses who pushed to have public servants return have had years to adapt. Being open from 11am to 3 or 5pm and closed on the weekends doesn’t help you attract the thousands of people who live downtown. And with the cost of living and the increased cost of going back to the office, who can afford to go out for lunch these days?

People who took advantage and slacked off should be dealt with. Kids should taken care of by someone else. I started permanently working from home when my kids were young, but not too young. When they came home from school, they entertained themselves. If my rowdy twin sons were able to keep out of trouble for a few hours, anyone can.

Simply put, people who work best in an office environment should be able to do so, whereas those who work best at home should not feel judged. Managers who feel the need to hover or micromanage should learn to trust people.

As I mentioned before, I have worked from home for almost 20 years now, but had a history of it - as it turns out, I have one of the easiest jobs to do from home. In 1988, Ottawa Magazine’s computer drought sent me running from Bank & Nepean to my apartment on Metcalfe to do my work on my own computer. I loved it, was incredibly productive and I was in great shape from all that exercise. When my computer at IBM blew up, I started working from home because I wasn’t allowed to bring my computer to the office (IBM never did replace my office one). My boss was a bit hesitant at first, but eventually let us all do it.

There are of course jobs that cannot be done at home – hospitality, emergency services, health care, etc. - but that shouldn’t determine that others can’t WFH. And hey, the office – and taxpayers - is saving money on toilet paper, am I right?