As COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted and the threat of Omicron variant appears to be under control, many Torontonians will be heading back to the office in the upcoming weeks — this includes 60,000 Ontario Public Service Workers (OPS) who are expected to be in the office three days a week beginning April 4.
And though 58 per cent of Canadians agree that they miss being with their colleagues in person, only 44 per cent say that they want to return to the office on a regular basis.
While the drive to get people back to work has already been met with some hesitancy, a Toronto property management group found themselves in hot water following a viral tweet that showed some ad signage in a downtown office building they manage. The signs appeared to be taunting the workers who would soon be returning to the daily grind.
“Miss your sweatpants yet?” read one sign which also included a photo of a very cozy-looking pair of sweats. “Bet your dogs missing you,” said the other with a close-up shot of a forlorn pooch and “Welcome Back.”
Shortly after the tweet, which has racked up close to 13,000 thousand retweets, and 130,000 likes, was posted, thousands of users took to twitter to voice their disgust.
Maybe fire a few peeps in their marketing department as well. Then they can stay home and chat with their dogs.
— Pete Twinkle (@IsaacWoodyDavis) March 8, 2022
“Who thought it was a good idea to remind people how sad they were making their dogs???” tweeted one user.
“I don’t even work here and I quit.” wrote another.
“As everyone has already said, this is astonishingly craven and devoid of empathy, even for big business. Reminding everyone their lives were better at home feels like a widely miscalculated play.” tweeted user @LongTallJodie.
According to data from Mental Health Research Canada, anxiety and depression are still having an impact on the lives of Canadians, with one-quarter continuing to feel the negative effect of their mental health on their ability to function.
Some felt that the signage was incredibly tone deaf.
“We actively hate you.”
“Wish you didn’t have to work to survive, huh?”
“How’s your mental health? Nobody cares. Welcome back!”
The offending office building, located at 100 Adelaide Street W. is managed by Oxford Properties. They have since confirmed that the signage has been removed and offered an apology to anyone who was offended.
