Winnipeg Construction X

[pspeid]

I think the big unknown here (aside from "when will there be a vaccine?") is how many current at-home workers will stay at home? My personal guess is that work-at-home may be instituted for a percentage of the worker's time, but employers like to have their people available in-person for monitoring, evaluation, idea sharing, etc. Sure all these can be done remotely, but there are also advantages to being in the same room with someone, albeit 2 metres apart.

[buzzg]

The universities have already decided fall courses will be online. That's over 50,000 people not going into campus (and buying lunches, etc) for work/study. Not sure what RRC and MITTs plans are since lots of their courses require in-person learning, but that's close to another 30,000 people.

So if the colleges are forced to do online learning as well, that's 10% of the city working from home in education alone.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I'm normally a downtown worker who will be working from home for the foreseeable future, certainly through the summer and probably through the end of the year. That's a lot of lunches not purchased, lunch hour shopping runs not happening, parking fees not paid, coffees not bought and so on. There have to be more than a few like me, and there is no way it won't add up. Unlike Toronto or Vancouver there aren't thousands of condo dwellers to fall back on either.

I hate to say it, but the next year or so could be very grim for downtown.

Why do you feel that you will be at home for that long?

[trueviking]

It is interesting. Our residential projects didn’t stop. Low interest rates and the potential for hungry trades at tender has them all going hard. Lots of other work stopped.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by trueviking

Why do you feel that you will be at home for that long?

That's the signal I'm getting from work. Senior management is talking about making working from home part of the new normal, basically indefinitely, for anyone who can. No decisions made yet and nothing is official, but there is clearly thought going into this.

[pspeid]

Future MMF presence downtown-perhaps occupying the office building on Graham Ave, just in front of the Police HQ? Not as glam as new construction, but filling that empty space would be a plus for downtown.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by esquire

That's the signal I'm getting from work. Senior management is talking about making working from home part of the new normal, basically indefinitely, for anyone who can. No decisions made yet and nothing is official, but there is clearly thought going into this.

I have several friends who's workplaces are resuming in-office work after the long weekend. All of them said it's 1/3 staff at a time on a daily rotating basis for now.

Originally Posted by pspeid

Future MMF presence downtown-perhaps occupying the office building on Graham Ave, just in front of the Police HQ? Not as glam as new construction, but filling that empty space would be a plus for downtown.

I can't imagine them needing more office space than would be in BMO. I'd be willing to wager a bet they'll still be keeping their current building in NE Exchange for community service and support, as they mentioned they're only moving "business operations" to BMO. It makes sense to want to separate the business ops from the shelter and support work.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by buzzg

I have several friends who's workplaces are resuming in-office work after the long weekend. All of them said it's 1/3 staff at a time on a daily rotating basis for now.

Yeah, I could see it playing out like that in my workplace. Not 100% WFH or anything like that, but maybe somewhere between half of the time to 80% or something along those lines. But even at half the time that's still a significant reduction in office space requirements, people on the ground and spending money, etc.

[drew]

Starting next week my office is transitioning back to "normal" office operations for the beginning of June - except for people who are unable to (child care issues) or should continue to stay away (live with front line health care workers).

I have been going to work regularly throughout the COVID, but overall the office was down to about 1/3 staff.

[Biff]

We are looking to transition back to office June 1st ish. Might do some rotation 1/2 and 1/2 staff.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by esquire

Yeah, I could see it playing out like that in my workplace. Not 100% WFH or anything like that, but maybe somewhere between half of the time to 80% or something along those lines. But even at half the time that's still a significant reduction in office space requirements, people on the ground and spending money, etc.

It would only reduce space requirements if staff would have to start sharing desks, computers, etc. Unlikely to happen in most place for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact we should be sharing space less now.

[DirtWednesday]

Minimum July 1st for us. My management asked the semi-rhetorical question in an informal meeting situation regarding the eventual call to return to work - "When we're asked to come back to the office, is anyone going to want to?" - alluding to the fact IT guys (at least our IT guys) tend to like hiding behind screens and are generally anti-social and like this Work From Home situation we find ourselves in.

I thought last year about the transition of downtown office spaces into something different. I started seeing more work from home situations and more shared office plans as opposed to the standard static desk assignments. I thought eventually, perhaps, you'd see less demand for the massive office complexes you see today, that the office buildings would all eventually be converted into residential or something.

I figured working from home was going to be a given, and as such I started up on education geared toward cloud and remote IT infrastructure. Also, companies are axing more people with regularity. Enjoying a one company career stop is probably over for Manitobans. I wanted to have a educated background on an IT job I could do comfortably from home from any potential company in a contractual situation. Having an agile home office is going to be key for me.

Before the rona I thought downtowns would be fine, because people still liked to gather in an urban environment, and ground level CRUs would flourish with all those new residential needs like they do in other cities... Now, I'm not as sure about the need of those CRUs with a potential change in the way we do everything from now on.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by buzzg

It would only reduce space requirements if staff would have to start sharing desks, computers, etc. Unlikely to happen in most place for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact we should be sharing space less now.

Yet that is exactly what we've been hearing... fewer private offices and more shared spaces. The idea is that you would be coming in mainly just to do things that you can't do at home.

I suppose if someone has a workspace for a day, it could always be cleaned and disinfected after hours. You just shouldn't have multiple people using the same phone, computer, etc. during the same day. Also, there is probably going to be a lot more consciousness about the risks of coming in when sick, i.e. there will be a lot less of it. In the past, I wouldn't have really thought twice about coming into the office with a runny nose as long as I could get through the workday. That has changed, and I suspect it has for many people.

[bomberjet]

My workplace is also considering at work from home option as part of normal business going forward. Not sure exactly to what extent yet. 1 day a week, 2, full time,. Not sure. But we are a worldwide corporation with 10000 employees and it's right across the whole company.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by buzzg

The Pollards started to build a patio on the lot between Fortune Block and the Winnipeg Hotel today. There’s a shipping container on site to be used for storage. I’ve heard they want to be able to serve drinks there and program it. Not sure if they’ll try and use liquor license from Times Changed or what.

Confirmed that Times Changed will be running the patio and hope to have live outdoor shows all summer. Should be cool – lots of room to spread out!

I've also heard that the Winnipeg Hotel is probably not salvageable beyond the facade.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Confirmed that Times Changed will be running the patio and hope to have live outdoor shows all summer. Should be cool – lots of room to spread out!

I've also heard that the Winnipeg Hotel is probably not salvageable beyond the facade.

Good news from Times Changed. Probably not surprising for the Winnipeg Hotel. I would not be sorry, however, to see the façade incorporated into a new building. Probably would be more attractive as a hotel space as well, if this was the original plan.

[plrh]

My office has been fully occupied as of this week. We were told to come back. Those with childcare issues were told to "figure something out". Lots of closed doors, no face-to-face meetings. Business as usual. We landed more work this year than the previous couple of years.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by esquire

Yet that is exactly what we've been hearing... fewer private offices and more shared spaces. The idea is that you would be coming in mainly just to do things that you can't do at home.

I suppose if someone has a workspace for a day, it could always be cleaned and disinfected after hours. You just shouldn't have multiple people using the same phone, computer, etc. during the same day. Also, there is probably going to be a lot more consciousness about the risks of coming in when sick, i.e. there will be a lot less of it. In the past, I wouldn't have really thought twice about coming into the office with a runny nose as long as I could get through the workday. That has changed, and I suspect it has for many people.

That arrangement would keep me from wanting to work there.

[Bdog]

Originally Posted by trueviking

That arrangement would keep me from wanting to work there.

It's interesting to see the different perspectives on working from home, flex hours, shared spaces, and the like before and after the pandemic.

Before, the trend for the hipper firms, some design type firms, and firms run or largely made of up millennials was going exactly in this direction. Work from home a few days a week to have a better work life balance, be more green with no commute, and experience the benefits that WFH can bring. Hot desks were becoming more and more common. The days you need to come in, just bring your laptop and plug in at an open table. If you want to spend the afternoon working at the coffee shop, go for it! For the growing free-lance or gig economy, this is how things are for them all the time.

It's interesting to see that now that COVID has brought this reality about much more quickly and involuntary, some have embraced it and are thriving, some see pros and cons, and some are deadset against it. Some complained that going into the office everyday was a chore and not needed in today's connected world, while after being home for a few months, some say they'll never work at home again. I guess it really depends on the type of work and the type or person.

[trueviking]

I agree. It’s really interesting how polarizing it is. If I was a boss I’d sure want my employees where I could see them. Ha ha.

On another note. That Portage Avenue shawarma place opened.