Ottawa’s return to office mandate is driven by something besides evidence

Recent research shows that Ottawa’s mandates for its employees to return to the office are not only unpopular, they’re also not backed by evidence.
A new study by Alessandra Fenizia and Tom Kirchmaier of the London School of Economics demonstrates that working from home (WFH) actually boosts productivity in the public sector by 12 per cent.
Such research is aligned with findings by Spark Advocacy that the large majority of Canadians believe that remote work is good for employees (81 per cent) and two-thirds say it is also good for organizational productivity.
The research directly contradicts the push for a widespread return to the office by the Canadian government.
Instead, it aligns with the points made in a recent interview with me by Nathan Prier, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employers. He voiced the frustration of federal employees who are required to work in-person without any solid rationale for doing so.
“A lot of members here are fairly well-educated, serious people who are expected to produce evidence-based decisions every day,” Prier said. “This (return to office, or RTO, policy) is just not going to stand for our members, and I don’t think it should stand for any Canadian federal public servant.”
The research by Fenizia and Kirchmaier reveals that work from home (WFH) is not just acceptable, but preferable for many public sector roles.
The study found that productivity gains are primarily driven by fewer distractions and better focus. Workers recorded handling more cases per day at home than in the office, and when supervisors were involved in allocating tasks, productivity jumped by more than 25 per cent.
The data clearly shows that the flexibility to work remotely, especially for knowledge workers, lets employees accomplish more.
These findings should make policymakers reconsider their current RTO strategies.
If working from home offers clear productivity benefits and comes with no drop in work quality, why are federal leaders insisting on dragging employees back into the office?
The evidence suggests that the default assumption — more face time equals more productivity — simply does not hold up.
What’s more, the Fenizia and Kirchmaier study tested a hybrid work arrangement, in which employees worked from home 70 per cent of the time and from the office 30 per cent. Researchers found no additional productivity gains when employees switched to an almost full-time WFH model.
This suggests that a hybrid approach, allowing one to two days of in-person time while maximizing the benefits of remote work, works as well as full-time remote work. However, that balance of WFH is far from the current Canadian government policy of 40 per cent WFH and 60 per cent in-person time.
The government’s push for a rigid RTO policy seems rooted more in tradition and control than in data. Prier’s comments echo the frustration of many employees who feel their preferences and productivity gains are being disregarded.
“If the government expects us to produce evidence-based decisions, why isn’t it holding itself to the same standard?” he asks. It’s a valid question.
The Fenizia and Kirchmaier study offers one of the most comprehensive evaluations of WFH in the public sector, and yet its insights appear to be ignored in the policy debate.
What’s at stake here isn’t just employee satisfaction or organizational efficiency — it’s the long-term viability of public sector work.
In the absence of evidence supporting a full RTO, the insistence on rigid in-person requirements risks demoralizing a workforce that has already proven its ability to thrive remotely. Worse, it sets a precedent that public policy can be based on gut feelings rather than empirical evidence.
The takeaway is clear: Canadian policymakers need to heed the data and adopt a flexible, hybrid approach.
Mandating a full return to the office not only ignores the evidence but risks creating a disgruntled and less productive workforce. A balanced, hybrid model that combines the focus of WFH with the collaborative benefits of office work is the best path forward.
For the Canadian federal government, it’s time to embrace modern work realities and let go of outdated, rigid mandates that have no place in a world where productivity and flexibility can go hand in hand.