Public service will move away from desk hoteling in response to return-to-office: Treasury Board

Secretary of the Treasury Board Bill Matthews says the federal public service will move toward assigned seating in a process that 'will evolve' over time. Photo by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Article content

The public service will move away from desk hoteling and reinstate assigned seating where possible, says Bill Matthews, secretary of the Treasury Board.

Article content

“We’re going to go — to the extent we can — to assigned seating, so teams can be together,” Matthews said at a Commons committee meeting on government operations Tuesday, May 5.

Article content

Article content

“Workforces are more productive that way.”

Article content

Article content

Pointing to the government’s July 6 deadline for bringing most public servants back into the office four days a week (up from three days), Matthews said some workplaces will not be able to support assigned seating right away.

Article content

“It will evolve,” he said. “The extent we can get to more assigned seating, we will do that, but that will take some time and it will vary by minister and by department because there was growth across the public service that was not supported with real property additions.”

Article content

Matthews said the decision to move away from desk hoteling was based on consultation with departments.

Article content

“It’s better if people have their own workspace,” he said in French. “Teams prefer to work together with an office, and not a shared office.”

Article content

Shared Services branch ditches Archibus

Article content

The shift in government-wide policy comes shortly after a branch of Shared Services Canada told employees last month it would be implementing a “neighbourhood model” for its staff in the National Capital Region as of September. The department’s operations and client services branch will group teams together in specific areas within buildings, shut down satellite co-working locations and assign workers to individual stations.

Article content

Article content

That branch will also scrap the use of Archibus, a software program for booking workstations.

Article content

Article content

The move away from bookable shared workspaces — or hoteling — reverses an approach the government set in motion long before workers were sent home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Article content

Under the current hybrid work model, desk hoteling is widespread in government office buildings.

Article content

According to an Ottawa Citizen analysis of government data, at least 50 per cent of staff at nearly 40 departments and agencies in the core public administration did not have assigned workspaces in 2024.

Article content

Article content

Assigned seats raise further questions about space

Article content

A move to embrace assigned seating in government offices raises questions about a looming space crunch.

Article content