Workers’ return to downtown Montreal offices is accelerating: survey

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Downtown Montreal’s office towers are filling up again, one desk at a time.

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Sixty-one percent of respondents in a Montreal Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Survey published Wednesday say they are now back in the office at least part of the time, including 29 percent full time. The first number compares with scores of 47 percent in August and 28 percent in June.

“This is a very promising advance for the revitalization of downtown Montreal,” Chamber of Commerce director Michel Leblanc said in a statement.

The latest survey comes two days after the release of data showing that activity in downtown Montreal has more than tripled this year. Pedestrian traffic in the central business district has increased about 212 percent since Jan. 5, trailing only New York among the top 23 municipalities in North America, real estate advisory firm Avison Young said Monday.

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About 71 percent of those surveyed in the Chamber of Commerce survey said they are comfortable returning to work in person. Flexible office hours represent a significant incentive to return to work, according to 62 percent of employees surveyed. 41% said they prefer to spend two or three days a week in the office.

More than six in 10 employees surveyed expressed their enthusiasm for the idea of ​​participating in professional networking events or conferences and meeting their co-workers face-to-face.

While telecommuting remains popular, with a 76 percent pass rate, it is not without its drawbacks. Forty percent of those surveyed noted a loss of team spirit, while 35 percent said they felt socially isolated and 29 percent said they had trouble keeping their private and professional lives separate.

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COVID-19 remains a huge concern. Seventy-two percent of those surveyed said they were concerned about possible contact with unvaccinated colleagues, while more than half said they would be ready to stay home to avoid possible contact with these people.

Seventy-nine percent of workers surveyed said they approve of using the vaccine passport in the workplace. Only 53 percent said they were confident that using public transportation is safe.

Léger and the Chamber of Commerce surveyed 604 Montreal-area employees and executives from October 26 to November 5 as part of the “I love working downtown” initiative. More surveys will be conducted in the coming months.

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