Return-to-office ‘unachievable’: Inside the desk space debacle at the public service pay centre

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“However, the absence of these facilities now presents significant obstacles to accommodating current and future needs under the RtO (return-to-office) framework.

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“Had these spaces remained available, the current challenges could have been largely mitigated.”

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Moncton a ‘hot market’

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But finding the space in Moncton, given its “status as a highly competitive and constrained market,” wouldn’t be possible, according to the document.

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“Without adjustments to in-office attendance policies, the three-day requirement mandated by TBS (Treasury Board Secretariat) will be unachievable.”

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The situation was made worse, the document noted, because other federal departments were also competing for office space in the same city.

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“Moncton is a very hot market,” said one comment on a proposal to solve the issue.

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In March 2025 decision-makers estimated it would be two to three years before enough new office space could be acquired to accommodate the existing workforce in-office three days per week.

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Instead, management committed to “space optimization” measures — and sought a group exemption to the hybrid work rules for about 1,600 pay administration branch workers.

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The exemption, which was granted, imposed a lower minimum in-office requirement on hundreds of employees across the three offices, depending on job duties and pay level. For example, the temporary solution in Moncton saw hundreds of employees in certain non-leadership positions required to be in-office just one day every two weeks.

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The goal was to fully implement the three-day return-to-office directive by April 1, 2026, nearly two years after the original deadline.

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Department anticipated media questions

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In an email, PSPC spokesperson Michèle LaRose said the pay administration branch “continues to work with partners” to address space constraints, though the branch has not yet fully implemented the three-day return-to-office directive that went into effect in September 2024.

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To date, workers in the Moncton, Miramichi and Matane offices continue to be covered by temporary exceptions to the directive, LaRose said.

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The branch is exploring options to add space in Shediac, N.B. and other areas near Moncton, she added. In January, the branch reached an agreement with another government department to secure about 40 additional workstations at an office in Bathurst, N.B.

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“This has helped alleviate pressure in Miramichi, as many employees who live near Bathurst have opted to work from that location,” LaRose said.

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LaRose pointed to assigned seating as another of PSPC’s actions to meet the return-to-office directive, though assigned workstations require more space than unassigned seating.

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In the meantime, the government has bumped the minimum in-office requirement for most public servants up to four days, effective July 6.

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Since that announcement, several large departments have said they will be forced to “stagger” their return-to-office schedules, due to space constraints.

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One internal PSPC document released under the access to information law outlined “communications messages,” in case media started asking questions about return-to-office in Moncton, Miramichi and Matane.

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Among the list of potential questions: “Why wasn’t workspace secured in time, given that PSPC had over a year to plan for the return-to-office?”