Canada Life announced June 12 that roughly one quarter of its workforce will potentially be back in the office by end of October.

Beginning after the Canada Day long weekend – the company also announced it is giving its employees two extra paid vacation days on July 2 and 3 to celebrate the holiday – the company says it will gradually increase the number of people returning to the office, beginning with those in vital roles that can best be done on-site. Currently, more than 95 per cent of Canada Life’s workforce is working from home.

Canada Life senior vice president of human resources, Cathy Weaver says the company’s investment in technology and its development of flex work policies helped employees and management meet the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak. Going forward, she says the majority of the company’s employees will continue working from home for the foreseeable future. “This is important, because as a major employer across Canada, we believe communities are best served by keeping employees out of the office, particularly in reducing the stress on transit systems in major metropolitan centres.”

For the 25 per cent expected to return to the workplace, Weaver says physical distancing principles will be the foundation of how offices function. All employees will be provided reusable masks and all team meetings will continue to be conducted online throughout the summer, even as the number of employees in the office increases. Travel restrictions will also remain in place going forward.

“We’ve created new ways of working that will be part of our lives long after COVID-19 has gone,” she adds. “Our goals are to keep employees and their families safe and to keep our business moving forward.”