In Canada, thousands of companies started offering remote work possibilities to attract new candidates and retain existing employees. Ottawa´s tech sector, in particular, has successfully adapted to the pandemic, with companies building strong work-from-home policies and embracing a better work-life balance for its employees.
The companies that have been the most successful were those that adapted to fully remote or hybrid work models. Ottawa’s top employers started focusing their efforts not towards improving compensation but towards a better work-life balance that translates into remote work.
Ottawa‘s Tech Sector Goes Remote
The tech sector has focused its efforts on building solid remote work policies. Before the pandemic, such policies were unusual. Momentive Chief People Officer Becky Canteri says that less than 4% of the company´s workforce worked remotely before the pandemic. And now it’s the other way around. She told Ottawa Citizen:
“The pandemic gave us a window of opportunity. Our greatest challenge turned into our greatest gift — time. We learned, observed, and proved the ability of our team to be distributed and productive.”
Major tech players in Ottawa like Adobe have transitioned towards a remote-first model and reached out to employees to build policies prioritizing their needs. According to Mike Scott, Adobes Ottawa site director:
“Many of our newest benefits, including company-wide wellbeing days, came to be in response to employee feedback around needing time to unplug and recharge together.”
Ottawas tech sector is transforming into remote work faster than any other Canadian city.
