Downtown business owner optimistic that new federal work policy will boost traffic in the area

A downtown Winnipeg business owner says while he isn't a fan of the hybrid work week, a new federal policy requiring civil servants to spend more time in the office is good news for his diner. 

Bruce Smedts runs the White Star Diner on Kennedy Street and said the hybrid work week costs him a lot of business, as the days of pre-pandemic traffic are gone. 

"Our business over the last eight months has really improved," said Smedts. "It's gotten much better, but I don't think it'll ever be back to what it was before.… But we're profitable and making money." 

Starting Sept. 9, federal civil servants will have to work in office at least three days a week, while executives will have to spend at least four. Currently, civil servants are required to be in their offices only two days a week.

"More and more offices have been coming back, but it's all a hybrid of two to three days a week," said Smedts. "So we can count on business to be quite good on the days that the office workers are in, but on the days that they're not, we know that it's going to be slow."

Employees from multiple sectors worked from home during the pandemic, and working remotely or in a hybrid model became normalized.

Some Manitoba Crown corporations like Manitoba Hydro are already working with a hybrid model. 

Media relations officer Peter Chura said it's been in place since June 2022. Chura said workers can work remotely Mondays and Wednesdays if they have manager approval, and then work three days in the office. 

"It strikes the balance of flexibility for the employees and meets the needs of the business, so I don't see any changes coming anytime soon," said Chura.  

Manitoba Public Insurance also has a hybrid work program. 

In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for MPI said employees are scheduled to be in the office for two or three days every week, on a rotating basis. The statement said employees in management roles designated as hybrid are expected to be in the office a minimum of three days a week.

"The program is built on the principles of respecting work-life balance while also encouraging in-person collaboration with co-workers," the statement said. 

And Shared Health, which oversees health-care delivery in the province, said in a statement its hybrid work policy was updated in the spring, providing notice to most office and administrative staff based in the capital region they would "soon be required to complete a minimum of 50 per cent of their worked time in a facility, office or administrative environment."

Managers were told they would be required to be in office three days per week, according to the statement.

"The policy was updated to encourage stronger collaboration and connection amongst our staff while still providing some flexibility and convenience for those that wish to work remotely," part of the statement said. 

Meanwhile, stats from the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ show a 23.5 percent increase in downtown visitors for the second quarter of 2024 compared to 2023. 

Smedts said he wishes there were more workers in the area. 

"I get the appeal for them, but just go to work. Go to work, get in your car and go to work," he said. "It's the complaint about 'I don't want to deal with traffic and I don't wanna deal with the people,' etcetera. It's part of life."