Halifax chamber calls for more in-office work days to help with downtown pandemic recovery

The Halifax Chamber of Commerce is calling for a hybrid work model requiring municipal workers to be in office three to four days a week to “help stimulate the downtown area” as it recovers from three years of COVID-19.

In its municipal pre-budget submission for the 2023-24 year, the chamber said this “would be an easy and affordable policy that could further help our downtown recovery.”

Currently, municipal employees whose roles allow for a flexible work model can request to work from home three days a week.

Patrick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, estimated this change would lead to $2 to $4 million in increased spending downtown.

“Downtowns are the core of our economy, particularly Halifax’s economy,” he said.

“We’d like (workers) to come downtown three to four days a week, frankly, to spend more money. To spend more money on restaurants, and in shops. Anything to stimulate that downtown economy.”

Sullivan said while COVID-19 changed the way people work, “it’s time for people to get back to the office.”

Mary Ellen Planetta, owner of Elle’s Bistro on Barrington Street, told Global News she’s “very excited” about the recommendation.

“(Since COVID-19,) lunch has really gone downhill, especially in the winter when the tourists aren’t around anymore,” she said.

“Having people back in the office, at least on a semi-regular basis, would definitely help things.”

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Prior to the pandemic, Planetta said Elle’s Bistro was often busy during lunch, for both in-person dining and takeout.

Last winter, she said the business “barely survived” due to a lack of office workers and tourists.

“It was just enough to keep the lights on,” she said.

Since then, business has started “trickling back,” she said, but Planetta estimates lunchtime customers are still down by about 50 per cent from pre-COVID-19 levels.

“We wish the people would come back to the offices,” she said. “We need people in the offices, we need people walking the streets, filling these roles.”

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Geoffroy Chevallier of Le French Fixe Patisserie also said his business relies on downtown workers taking their lunch breaks.

He said he would support a hybrid work model for municipal staff that would see office workers returning for three or four days a week.

“That will definitely make a better daily downtown,” he said. “I think that’s a good idea.”

In a statement Tuesday, HRM spokesperson Klara Needler said the chamber of commerce recommendation will be “reviewed and taken into consideration.”

However, she added: “It is important to note that flexible working options, like working from home, have become an important attraction and retention factor in Halifax’s highly competitive labour market.”

While the chamber said the city has roughly 3,600 to 5,000 employees, Needler said there are just under 800 flexible work agreements in place, less than 50 per cent of which are for employees who work downtown.