Alberta government employees will return to working in the office full-time starting in February, the province said Friday.
Starting in March 2022, Alberta Public Service (APS) employees can work from home up to two days a week under the province’s interim hybrid work policy.
Nearly 12,600 government employees, or about 44 percent of the workforce, were included in August.
“The policy was originally implemented in response to the public health crisis and will now be suspended due to changing circumstances and sector trends,” the province said Friday in a news release.
The government pointed to a similar decision issued in August by the Ontario provincial government. Starting January 5, 2026, its employees will be expected to work in the office five days a week.
“APS remains committed to flexibility through other policies that employees can still access based on operational needs, such as average work hour agreements, flex hour agreements, and modified work schedules,” the news release states.
Finance Minister Nate Horner’s office, which oversees the public workforce, said Friday it had no role in the decision but supports it and hopes full-time office work will “strengthen collaboration, accountability and service delivery for Albertans.”
“The hybrid work model introduced during COVID-19 was always intended to be a temporary measure to maintain operations during an unprecedented time,” Horner’s office said.
“There will continue to be flexibility for individual cases where necessary, depending on the job and circumstances of the worker.”
NDP Opposition Leader Naheed Nenshi questioned whether the measure will achieve what Horner’s office said it would.
“He [United Conservative Party government] continues to disrespect workers,” he said in a statement.
However, the news is welcomed by businesses in downtown Edmonton, where many Alberta government offices are located. Restaurants, stores and other service providers have suffered from a lack of foot traffic since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Quinn Phillips, director of marketing and communications for the Edmonton Downtown Business Association, says her members appreciate that workers may not be happy about having to be in the office five days a week, but they hope to see more people outside during their lunch hour.
“Having more people downtown during the day will be a great support for our businesses,” he said. “And beyond that, it creates a really wonderful vitality.”
