CANADA
The Canadian Federal Government is considering a new kind of workspace for Public Servants, potentially giving them a third option besides commuting and working from home.
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) said the Department was currently in the planning stage of “exploring innovative workplace solutions” that included co-working spaces for PS staff.
Co-working spaces (an example of which is pictured) have seen a recent rise in popularity, giving self-employed or remote workers a location outside their homes to visit to get work done.
They are typically open-concept spaces that include much of what an office would offer, such as printers, scanners and Wi-Fi.
However, a PSPC spokesperson said the Department was unable to discuss specific locations at this point.
It did say it was planning several permanent co-working spaces that would be available to employees when weather or other circumstances made it impractical to travel to their usual workplace.
Director of Community Engagement at Ottawa co-working space Coworkly, Victoria Landreville said the spaces could potentially change the entire work culture associated with the Federal Public Service.
“Ottawa has been primarily nine-to-five,” Ms Landreville said.
“If they incorporate this sense of flexibility and adapting to people’s own schedule, I think that’s going to massively change the way the people in this city are going to think.”
Ottawa, 6 January 2019
