508 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

It says 13% have repaid. Why would anyone do that, if there is still no interest or penalty? And yes the potential you indicate.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 27 February 2023 - 09:35 AM.

[spanky123]

I'm sure Sparky is all for this. Keep Victoria small and simple .

I think current salaries offered by the province is more of a problem with retention than anything else. They need to go and compare their salaries with equivalent positions in other public sector unions. It's the number one issue there that I see for any non-entry level role.

 

To some extent the Government lags trends in hiring. Twelve months ago it was very difficult, if not impossible, to hire someone into a professional role without some flexibility in work. In the past few months that has changed as layoffs continue to rock the tech world and the balance of power in hiring changes. 

 

Having said that, I think that the Government stands to benefit with remote work. The reduction in office space will be a significant savings as they tend to pay top dollar and tracking tools will enable them to finally start weeding out staff that 'left' the service two years ago but who are still on the payroll! 

[spanky123]

It says 13% have repaid. Why would anyone do that, if there is still no interest or penalty? And yes the potential you indicate.

 

I suspect the vast majority of those were repayments due to a merger, sale or windup or simply repayments of loans that were fraudulently obtained. You are right, why else would anyone else repay early?

 

The other thing to bear in mind is that businesses that are successful and profitable likely didn't take the loans in the first place unless the $20K of free money was meaningful to them.

Edited by spanky123, 27 February 2023 - 09:41 AM.

[Stephen James]

Very much this. I think perhaps where you and I differ from Ismo is the level/skill/type of roles we are talking about. I'm very much talking about professional, knowledge based worker roles.

when I've been asked to propose measurement/accountability/development/comp, I've not found a difference between knowledge work, physical work, service work with respect to creating a system agreeable to all parties...

doesnt mean examples aren't out there.

 

Also, I'm not saying dt businesses won't suffer. I'm sure many will given how may purchases are made during breaks and lunch hours. 

[Matt R.]

Small businesses are asking for a deadline extension on the federal government's pandemic loan program — and only a fraction of them have repaid the money they owe.

The Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) was introduced at the height of the pandemic to help out small businesses forced to close or limit their operations due to public health measures. The program offered interest-free loans backed by the federal government.

Nearly 900,000 businesses were approved for the program, which distributed just under $50 billion in loans.

https://www.cbc.ca/n...nsion-1.6759630

Why would anyone repay it early.

[Victoria Watcher]

RBC tells employees to return to the office three or four days a week

 

 

Royal Bank of Canada has instructed employees to return to the office three to four days a week as companies grapple with convincing workers to leave their work from home setups.

 

In an internal memo to employees Tuesday, RBC said that starting May 1, employees will have the option to work from home one or two days a week, depending on the requirements of their team. RBC said that without frequent in-person engagement, its long-term competitiveness is at risk.

 

“When our teams come together on-site more frequently, we are solving complex problems faster, learning and growing more effectively, and ultimately building deeper connections with one another,” RBC said in an email from its executive team.

 

“We want to continue to encourage these healthy and positive face-to-face moments while ensuring a level of flexibility that we know is important. For this reason, we are shifting toward a more consistent approach to in-person routines that will double down on our culture and lay the foundation to protect our competitive edge in the years ahead.”

 

https://www.theglobe...id-office-work/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 March 2023 - 01:03 PM.

[aastra]

 

“When our teams come together on-site more frequently, we are solving complex problems faster, learning and growing more effectively, and ultimately building deeper connections with one another,” RBC said in an email from its executive team.

 

So I guess we're now dropping (and forgetting) all of those claims about how working remotely was more efficient, more productive, cheaper, etc.

[Nparker]

That was last week's narrative.

[Ismo07]

So I guess we're now dropping (and forgetting) all of those claims about how working remotely was more efficient, more productive, cheaper, etc.

 

That's the narrative from people working from home.  

[spanky123]

That's the narrative from people working from home.  

 

In fairness some people are more productive in some roles when working from home. Those tend to be roles with set expectations and measurable objectives.  Sales is a good example.

 

A lot of people are not more productive from home due to a variety of reasons but are quite happy with the status quo. For the past two years a shortage of labour has meant that employers have accepted remote work for fear of losing employees if they mandated a return to work.

 

That dynamic is now changing as hundreds of thousands of tech workers have lost their jobs in the past year and labour markets are easing up. I fully expect to see more return to work mandates this year for a least a few days a week.

[aastra]

 

That's the narrative from people working from home.

 

It was also the narrative from every government, big corporation, and state-controlled news source... for a while.

 

No worries, it will probably be the narrative again when the next big crisis comes along.

[AllseeingEye]

Depends entirely on the nature of the work; in my case we are working at least as productively today, even more so.

 

Although we're a private US-based corporation the BCG is our client. In order to get the contract initially many years ago the employer had to agree that all Canadian staff become members of the BCGEU. As you would expect consequently we get 2 coffee breaks daily. Pre-covid when in the d/t office I'd log out and go for twice daily 15 minute walks. Since working from home its just simply easier to go to the kitchen and re-fill my tea, make a sandwich etc and go straight back to my computer. Volume-wise I'm probably producing/completing more work than in the pre-covid period.

 

From a team perspective tools like MS Teams and also in our case Cisco Jabber ensure we're constantly in communication or contact when issues or questions arise. No issues there at all. Ditto for meetings.

 

Obviously not all positions or industries can work as seamlessly from home, or work from home at all in the case of some of them, but for us and our team specifically, there are no issues re: productivity especially.

[Nparker]

...it will probably be the narrative again when the next big crisis comes along...

It will probably be the narrative again when the next applicable government-created crisis comes along. 

[Mike K.]

People are fed up with the system of funnelling commuters into downtowns now rife with crime and violence, wasting their time in the process, wasting their money, and requiring a lot of subsidizing by the entirety of society so the employer can have an office in a location that benefits them personally.

For a progressive society that loathes so many of the old ways of doing things, we can’t shake the penchant for moving people from every corner of a city into singular employment nodes, that require a massive armada of services and supports to get them there.

[Victoria Watcher]

 

[Victoria Watcher]

[Victoria Watcher]

To enter Victoria City Hall, ring the doorbell

 

“The doors are locked for managed access, this is not about keeping people out.”

 

https://www.timescol...oorbell-6796429

 

 

 

“The doors are locked for managed access, this is not about keeping people out,” said Victoria’s executive operations manager Colleen Mycroft. “No one is denied entry into the hall, it’s not about that. It’s just about managing the flow of people in and out of City Hall.”

 

Mycroft said there are two “ambassadors” who respond to the bell and will ask if visitors need assistance in finding their destination.

 

She said it’s been helpful for first-time visitors such as people doing renovations to their homes who may never have been to the planning department and don’t know where to go.

 

“We’ll show them upstairs, we’ll walk you up there, we’ll find your planner for you,” she said, noting it’s part of the ­customer-service experience. “You want it to be friendly and open, but we do have to manage the access, we can’t just have people wandering all over.”

 

Mycroft stressed the program was not instituted due to any incident, and they are not screening people and no one is denied access.

 

“Your behaviour once you’re in the hall determines whether you are asked to exit or not,” she said.

 

The program was established in late October last year.

 

 

 

“You want it to be friendly and open, but we do have to manage the access, we can’t just have people wandering all over.”

 

 

 

Except for the 161 year previous to now, they did let anyone in.   What has changed now is that downtown is a hellhole.

 

 

The doors are locked for managed access, this is not about keeping people out

 

 

 

Spoken like a true bureaucrat.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 April 2023 - 04:42 AM.

[Nparker]

You have to admire the spin though.

[Mike K.]

I thought it was after a staffer got assaulted, that they implemented the lock-and-check?

[Nparker]

That was the pre-spin version.