Federal public servants vie for prized co-working spaces to avoid downtown commute

Some federal public servants in Ottawa wait nearly an hour each morning for a coveted spot in one of the city's suburban co-working spaces rather than endure the commute to their government offices downtown.

On a recent weekday morning, employees queued outside a co-working office at Place d'Orléans, each hoping to secure one of about 30 workspaces available on a first-come, first-served basis. The office opens at 7 a.m.

Some sat on folding chairs as they waited for the door to open, while others listened to music or knitted. 

The Orléans location is one of six "GCcoworking" offices in Ottawa and Gatineau with a combined capacity of 684. Most of the workspaces are reserved in advance, but a portion are available for daily walk-ins.

Most opened in 2019 under  a Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) pilot project, well before the COVID-19 pandemic forced government employees to work from home. There are seven more of the co-working offices in cities across the country including Vancouver, Toronto and Laval, Que.

According to the PSPC website, the offices "have been designed as activity-based workplaces, with individual and collaborative workpoints, to promote collaboration, innovation and productivity."

Each site is "equipped with modern tools and technology, such as Wi-Fi and video-conferencing services, for increased efficiency. The workspaces are also fully accessible, providing amenities such as electric height-adjustable desks, power doors and tactile signage."

While rules vary by department, PSPC says it allows its employees to spend one of their three designated in-office days per week at a co-working space like the one in Orléans.

According to the Treasury Board, where employees are allowed to work is determined "based on operational requirements."

While employees are now required to work in the office three days a week — four days a week for executives — alternative arrangements can be made at the discretion of departmental deputy heads. That includes a "mixed approach" where employees work one or two "fixed onsite days" and the remainder "at the discretion of the employee," the Treasury Board told CBC.

Another option for workers

The co-working spaces offer public servants another option — for those lucky enough to get a desk.

For public servant Joannie Campagna, who lives about 60 kilometres from her downtown office, the Place d'Orléans site spares her from the worst part of her daily commute — especially when she's trying to get home to her children.

"It's much quicker for me to leave here than to leave downtown with the traffic," she said in French.

Others said they're saving money on gas and parking. Most declined to speak on the record, fearing their comments might be perceived as criticism of their employer's evolving hybrid working policy. But many agreed there's a lack of available office space in the capital region's suburbs.

According to PSPC spokesperson Nicole Allen, the co-working spaces are "often at full capacity." 

Allen said the locations were never intended to replace federal government offices, but as an "additional option" for employees.

"We plan to eventually open other [locations] in the longer term, with the aim of offering affordable shared office solutions to federal public servants," Allen added in an emailed statement to Radio-Canada. 

Lineups 'unacceptable,' union says

PSPC is also open to the idea of contracting private companies to provide co-working options for federal public servants, Allen said.

In 2022, the federal government signed a contract worth more than $13.8 million with the company LAUFT Inc. to "offer office space on demand and flexibly, unlike the conventional way of offering it for rental or sale."

Bruce Roy, national president of the Government Services Union, said it's "downright ridiculous that people are lining up to get to work," describing the current situation as "unacceptable."

Roy said it speaks to the government's lack of preparation before workers were ordered back to the office in September.

"We improvised on the backs of civil servants," he said. "We are talking about a return to work, but [in reality] we are talking about a return to the city centre."

Roy also pointed to the current unreliability of public transit in Ottawa, and urged the federal government to open more office space in suburban areas — without the help of the private sector.