As the solar rises on downtown Winnipeg, Tim Taylor begins his day at Tapper Cuddy LLP amidst his fellow authorized students and colleagues. It’s a begin to the day that might have appeared so much totally different just some years in the past.
On his drive to work, Taylor, a companion on the agency notices the downtown feels extra vigorous than it did a 12 months in the past.
“In the office, it feels back to normal, rush hour feels back to normal, it feels like downtown has a pulse and a busyness,” Taylor mentioned.
In this multi-part sequence, CTV News Winnipeg surveyed 4 downtown employers about work-life after the COVID-19 pandemic.
He’s only one of 1000’s of workers which have come again to work downtown because the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Coming back to the office has been good, it turns out I actually like the people I work with, so it’s good to enjoy their company during a work day,” Taylor mentioned.
CTV News contacted 4 of downtown Winnipeg’s notable employers to get a way of what number of workers have returned to their respective offices as of June 2023 and the way these numbers in contrast to what number of every employed downtown in 2019.
Manitoba Public Insurance, Manitoba Hydro, Wawanesa Insurance and True North Sports & Entertainment every have various numbers.
According to Satvir Jatana, president and CEO of Manitoba Public Insurance, the group’s downtown workforce of workers commuting to the workplace has shrunk from 1,400 to 1,200.
Workers started returning to the workplace in 2022 and 200 of these positions that have been on the workplace in 2019 have now transitioned to call-centre positions that might be operated from dwelling.
For Manitoba Public Insurance, proudly owning CityPlace provides an extra accountability.
“The vitality of this building depends on the people being in this building,” Jatana mentioned.
“It’s great to see our employees back in this building. I know I really enjoy interacting, in person with our team. It’s great to see the team building, that team engagement and interacting with one another.”
On the flipside, Wawanesa Insurance’s workforce grew from 1,100 workers to 1,300 in a brand-new constructing.
Evan Johnston, government vice-president of technique & associated companies at Wawanesa Insurance mentioned they wished to consolidate their workers in a single place.
“We’ve grown, really doubled the size of our employee base here in Winnipeg over the last decade,” Johnston mentioned.
“We’re a strong insurance company, a big employer in Manitoba, and have seen a lot of growth. We wanted to bring all of our folks together in one building and provide them the amenities that they deserve.”
Wawanesa Insurance workers started transferring into their new constructing in February this 12 months and a grand opening was held in March.
The insurance coverage firm bought their former location at 200 Main Street to the Manitoba Metis Federation and Johnston mentioned they are welcoming new tenants into the constructing at 191 Broadway which they nonetheless personal.
“I think there is a lot more energy downtown,” Johnston mentioned.
“I personally love working downtown. I love the location that we’re in. I love the energy on the streets. You can feel it, maybe more so now than we could a year or so ago.”
Over at Manitoba Hydro, the crown company took a phased method and went from 1,600 workers to greater than 1,800 working downtown in 2024.
“We’ve spent a lot of time developing a return to office plan prior to implementing it back in 2022, said Scott Powell, director of corporate communications for Manitoba Hydro.
“It’s been a relatively smooth process for us.”
At True North Sports & Entertainment, the enterprise has expanded from 185 workers to 200 post-pandemic.
“We’re a public assembly, and our downtown community is very important to us,” mentioned Dawn Haus, senior vice-president of tradition & visitor expertise and chief individuals officer for True North Sports & Entertainment.
“We understood the role that we played in that, so bringing people back as soon as we safely could was important for us.”
Dawn Haus is senior vice-president of tradition & visitor expertise and chief individuals officer for True North Sports & Entertainment. (Joseph Bernacki/CTV News Winnipeg)
Back at Tapper Cuddy LLP, Taylor says issues virtually appear again to regular. He says rebuilding downtown is important.
“I think if we’re invested in our city, it’s good to be back downtown,” Taylor mentioned.
Employers have additionally famous the liveliness of the core on a given Monday to Friday.
“I’ve been coming to downtown for the last nine years, and after Covid, I would say this is probably the first summer that we’re starting to see more people,” Jatana mentioned.
“Slowly people are trickling back,” Haus mentioned.
“You see more and more people walking through the skywalk, walking on the streets, lining up at different food vendors or different restaurants and seeing those businesses have that business is something that’s great to see.”
How corporations put money into downtown by bringing again their workers varies relying on who you speak to. In half two of this sequence, we are going to discover the hybrid distant work preparations and the influence that has introduced to downtown Winnipeg.
Tim Taylor is a companion at Tapper Cuddy LLP. (Joseph Bernacki/CTV News Winnipeg)
