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Summers are about unwinding, relaxing, connecting with friends and family and (hopefully) taking it a little easier at work, before jumping back into the September routine.

For many, however, that September routine will be different than the last few years because of the sudden and largely poorly explained urge to return to the office for more days.

In the case of some workers, it is four or even five days a week.

Some of Canada’s big banks including RBC, Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal have mandated at least four days in office starting in September and Canaccord Genuity Inc. has mandated its 1,000 Canadian employees work from the office five days a week starting Sept. 8.

A 2024 KPMG report found 83 per cent of Canadian chief executives expect a full return to office within three years, up from 55 per cent in 2023.

Return to work (RTO) mandates were a hot topic at Calgary Stampede corporate parties. Employees are angry, disappointed and spending their summers figuring out how RTO will transform their work and home lives. I’ve heard stories of employees seeking legal and medical advice on how to get granted an accommodation to work from home, if only twice a week.

It would be less disheartening if employers had a better explanation of why RTO is needed.

The problem appears to be a disconnect between those making the RTO decisions and employees’ understanding why it matters. While CEOs cite the need to boost productivity, studies, including one by Stanford University workplace guru Nicholas Bloom, found hybrid work improves retention and has no impact on productivity or performance.

The common assumption is this is a human resources-led initiative because policies are an HR matter. Just because it affects all employees, however, doesn’t mean it should be an HR-led idea. In fact, many HR leaders I’ve recently spoken with have only been consulted about enforcement, not about how to develop policies and processes. After all, they rarely sit at the executive leadership table where this conversation takes shape, but instead tend to report to someone who does such as the chief operating officer, chief financial officer or even the general counsel. If asked to weigh in, offering the perspective of the average employee, it’s usually after the decision and direction has been finalized.

Let’s face it, members of an executive leadership team typically have different lifestyles and challenges than those who rank below them. They may not see a significant commute to work, childcare or pet drop off and pick up times, in the same light as those closer to the front lines. Simply put, the impact of a five-day-a-week office presence has a different impact on them than it does for the average employee.

And yet, the more rigid RTO decisions have been made. So if you’re bringing or planning on bringing employees back to the office four or five days a week and not involving HR other than the implementation phase, consider the following:

Reviewing baseline sick time: Requiring all employees to be in the office will bring back the sick worker because, why take a precious sick day when you can somewhat work? As before March, 2020, employees will come to work sick, likely spreading it to others. Companies should increase sick days to avoid contagion and potential lost productivity as a result.

Commuting: Yes, we all chose where we live and work, sort of. In Canada’s major cities, housing is becoming so costly that many are living far away from where they work. They are taking the train or other forms of mass transit or driving. As well, don’t forget about bad weather, which will undoubtedly happen, causing employees to be late, taking out valuable work time. Be prepared to lose productivity time or have tired and less-engaged workers.

Less engagement: Engagement is a two-way street: If you are not going to provide flexibility to employees, they will give you less as well. Less-engaged employees produce less, are less happy and will ultimately look for a company that offers flexibility, leaving the inflexible employer with high turnover and the costs that come with it.

Impact assessment: Before a major change or decision is made, an impact assessment is a good idea. We see these everywhere but, sadly, I have not seen one being done to assess the impact of a mandatory five days a week return to the office, before it is implemented. To avoid any surprises, see how employees and the company will be affected and the real cost of the business in sick time, talent attraction, hiring new people and time spent enforcing the policy.

Above all, be honest with your messaging around why you want staff back in the office five days a week. If it’s just because you want them there, then say that. Don’t talk about the need for bonding, teamwork or engagement because employees know there are other ways to do that.

Also, set aside the notion that work life was better before March, 2020. Carefully weigh the pros and cons by involving HR from the beginning. And be ready to hear things you may not want to hear.

Eileen Dooley is a talent and leadership development specialist, and a leadership coach, based in Calgary.