Should companies require employees to return to the office full time in Ontario?

The work-from-home trend that started during the pandemic continues for some people, but others find themselves returning to the office.

Lockdown restrictions starting in March 2020 forced many workers to stay home and meet online. Lockdowns started to ease in 2022 and now, in 2025, workplaces are mostly back to normal. However, many people prefer the convenience of a home office.

INsauga.com asked: Should companies require employees to return to the office full time? The results were split.

As of July 4, 52.8 per cent (1,033) said no, employees should have the option to work remotely or hybrid. Another 47.2 per cent (923) said yes, full-time in-office work should be mandatory.

In most cases, employees may not have a choice if they want to keep the same position. Employers in Ontario have the right to decide where work happens, law firm Samfiru Tumarkin said in an online post. If your original employment agreement specified in-office work, your employer can require you to return, the firm noted.

However, if you’ve been working remotely for a long time – especially if it became a permanent arrangement – your employer isn’t allowed to suddenly change that without consequences, Samfiru Tumarkin added.

Compared to other countries, more Canadians work remotely.

An April survey from Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research indicates working from home is more common in North America and Europe.

Canadians work from home an average of 1.9 days a week—the highest of all the 40 countries included, the survey found.

The survey also found that remote work levels dropped from 2022 to 2023, but after 2023 appear to have stabilized.

Statistics Canada data shows Canadians who worked most of their hours from home rose to about 40 per cent in April 2020 and then declined to almost 30 per cent in January 2022, then decreased to about 20 per cent in November 2023. In contrast, about seven per cent of Canadians worked most of the time from home in May 2016.

Lead photo: Vlada Karpovich