Working From Home

[Zipperpants]

If a job can be done from home, there is a good chance that it can be done anywhere in the world, for cheaper than what companies are paying employees in Canada.

Expect a slow lowering of wages for WFH people and more outsourcing in the future. Just as Third World labor obliterated First World manufacturing, there is now a clearer path to destroy the white collar work-from-home worker class. You might not feel the pinch, but your kids will.

yep, exactly what I am starting to see now. Companies in Toronto are starting to open up their borders and hire outside the city. Why hire someone in Toronto and pay them 55k when you can hire a person in Thunderbay and pay them 35k because cost of living is cheaper.

This pandemic opened up a big can of worms and I laugh at anyone who thinks this WFH situation is going to disappear once things go back to “normal”. It’s not. Some of the big tech companies have already said they are making WFH permanent and like it because now they have the ability to recruit workers around the world. In other words pay less to people living in other countries.

 

[explorerzip]

"all the apartments' windows were equipped with safety locks a few years ago to prevent the windows from fully opening. He noted a child should not have been able to fall out of one."

Toronto child, 4, dies after falling from 15th-storey window

A four-year-old boy has died after falling from a 15th-storey window in Toronto's Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood.

www.ctvnews.ca

"A toddler has died after being struck by an air conditioner that fell from an apartment building in the city's east end, according to Toronto police. ... The two-year-old child was in her stroller when the air-conditioning unit fell from the eighth floor of the building and struck her, police said.Nov 12, 2019"

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/child-life-threatening-condition-balcony-fall-driftwood-yorkwoods-1.5666563

I understand this, but that still isn't a reason not to have opening windows on residential units. I am assuming that the building code specifies that residential units must have them. If the code doesn't specify then I guess you convert an office tower to residential if you put aside the issues I mentioned earlier. I don't think it's possible to put a window air conditioner on an office tower without major structural changes.

It's never impossible to do a conversion. It just has to be practical and economical.

 

[Darts]

If you're okay with being a drive away from everything. No it doesn't matter much during a real lockdown but for the rest of life many people would just end up with a long drive or even longer train ride to go anywhere fun.

Looks like there is no shortage of people heading out of downtown and the city. (I grew up in rural Quebec and country life was fine.)

Home prices rise in cottage country amid demand from remote workers, retirees

Home prices are increasing in Canada's cottage country as more buyers look to move there full-time, according to a report released Monday by Royal LePage.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[Archer2012]

Now that we are in a 3 day storm, aren't you glad you are working from home? Cuts down on accidental road injuries and death. The wife of a business associate was actually killed in a car accident on her way to her office. Also, I know people who suffered broken wrists and hips from slipping on icy sidewalks.

Most of that is simply “Cityidots” don’t have a clue how to drive in rain or snow. Actually even dry sunny days - take the 401 - even if it was fifty lanes wide - the dumb ass drivers would figure out how to clog it up.
But yes - it is a blessing not to be out among them.

 

[Archer2012]

Looks like there is no shortage of people heading out of downtown and the city. (I grew up in rural Quebec and country life was fine.)

Home prices rise in cottage country amid demand from remote workers, retirees

Home prices are increasing in Canada's cottage country as more buyers look to move there full-time, according to a report released Monday by Royal LePage.

www.ctvnews.ca

I spent allot if time in the Eastern Townships in my 20’s / 30’s - wonderful “winter fun” and many Quebec Ladies . Some of my best memories. Ha ha ha

 

[Darts]

According to the Economic Statement tabled last night, we are allowed to claim up to $400 in home office expenses. If you try to claim more, you risk a tax audit which will ruin your life.

 

[MadGeek]

Why hire someone in Toronto and pay them 55k when you can hire a person in Thunderbay and pay them 35k because cost of living is cheaper.

I think Canadian employers are in for a rude surprise. Too often I've seen the attitude that Canada is this cute little ecosystem that measure's itself against what Toronto pays for salaries. In your example $20K does seem attractive but it doesn't account for the fact your company in Toronto is now competing globally for talent, and your company as a result now has competitors it didn't know it had because you may not have competed in the same markets. The fences are clearly coming down now. What happens when a US company comes along and see's a cost savings from say $90K US to $60K CDN for a Toronto person or values the person in TB at $50K? Canada has some pretty big advantages versus India for US companies - similar culture, same time zones, lower salaries etc... Also if everyone is looking at India in Canada well so is the rest of the world, meaning you're now going to be competing for services/talent in India and your cost savings aren't going to be what you think they are.

 

[Born2Star]

Read the thread so far looks like most people love WFH.

I hate it.

I work in IT, my job can be 100% done from home. But I missed the people.

I missed the drive to and from work. It’s a time to de-stress. Many times I WFH and after work I headed to the dinner table and started yelling at my kids for no reason. I was just stressed.

I know people who work for company in US and he’s is the ONLY staff in Toronto. I can’t imagine doing that.

If one takes his career seriously, the job becomes an integral part of his life... and this part of your life is by yourself many hours a day.... seriously !?!

Not to mention can’t sneak out to MP/SP... but that’s the smallest piece.

 

[basketcase]

I thought one of the perks of working from home was being able to stay in your pajamas all day.

Was great at the start but I need to have a division between work and play.

 

[Fun For All]

Was great at the start but I need to have a division between work and play.

I hear that from other work at homers...they need to get away from home,

 

[jerimander]

giving presentations at home in my underwear feels breezy

I think that's what Jeffrey Toobin did.

 

[shakenbake]

Rather than convert old office buildings to residential, I think they will tear down the old office building and build anew. Probably cheaper anyway.

BTW: I still can't believe they paid $300mm for 1 Front Street.

1 Front Street West Condos

Pre-construction Condo 1 Front Street West Condos Located at 1 Front St W Toronto, ON M5J 2X5 Canada Development by Larco Investments

www.mycondoclub.com

I don’t think that they will tear down 1 Front Street West. It was a Canadian heritage building and owned by the federal government. Today, it is a heritage building under other protection and classification. They will likely build on top of it if it is structurally feasible to do so.

 

[Darts]

I don’t think that they will tear down 1 Front Street West. It was a Canadian heritage building and owned by the federal government. Today, it is a heritage building under other protection and classification. They will likely build on top of it if it is structurally feasible to do so.

I think they plan to keep the facade intact.

 

[shakenbake]

I think they plan to keep the facade intact.

I don’t know about the situation with the current owners. However, building maintenance wasn’t even allowed to chose paint colours in the custom house room of that building, and weren’t allowed to hang stuff on the walls. Other parts of the building were extensively renovated and the place was awarded an environmental LED certification award for the updates that were allowed. For that, I think that the building won’t be torn down and much more than the facade will remain.

 

[Darts]

For that, I think that the building won’t be torn down and much more than the facade will remain.

Time will tell. Anyway, I hope they remove the black garbage bags from the CRA drop boxes so I can pay my taxes. You can imagine my disappointment when I went downtown only to find the two CRA boxes covered in black garbage bags.

1 Front Street West Apartments in Toronto, ON | Prices, Plans, Availability

www.buzzbuzzhome.com

 

[shakenbake]

Time will tell. Anyway, I hope they remove the black garbage bags from the CRA drop boxes so I can pay my taxes. You can imagine my disappointment when I went downtown only to find the two CRA boxes covered in black garbage bags.

1 Front Street West Apartments in Toronto, ON | Prices, Plans, Availability

www.buzzbuzzhome.com

More and more, the CRA is encouraging electronic commerce. When did you go to Front Street tax centre? The offices have been largely closed since March 16, and most employees are working remotely. Very little mail is being processed during the pandemic. The CRA website will have details.

 

[Darts]

I usually drop off a physical postdated cheque in the drop box outside the front door. This is because historically it takes them around 15 days to process the cheque. Anyway, I had to mail them the cheque this year and the damn cheque cleared my bank account on the exact (extended) due date.

 

[Darts]

When did you go to Front Street tax centre?

Here are a couple of pics I took when I was down there. Even spoke to one of the security guys when he stepped out for a smoke. I asked him if it is true the buyer paid $300mm for the building, he said "more".


BTW: You can see my reflection in the glass door.

 

[Darts]

1) The CRA has released rules on how to claim home office expenses (maximum $400).

2) Surveys show most employees working from home don't want to go back.

 

[Mr.Know-It-All]

Scores of Canadians have ditched the city. Will the office claim them back? - National | Globalnews.ca

While employers have become much more flexible, a majority still want employees to show up at the office at least a few days a week, HR experts say.

globalnews.ca

The mismatch between employees’ hopes and employers’ expectations is “the biggest issue that we’re seeing right now,” says Julie Labrie, president of BlueSky Personnel Solutions, a bilingual recruitment staffing firm.

“Many employers of workers currently doing their jobs solely from their homes expect them to go back into the office full time after the pandemic is in the rearview mirror. Not two days a week. Not three days a week. Full time,” CIBC economists Benjamin Tal and Royce Mendes wrote in a recent report citing Statistics Canada data.

And while the pandemic has created many more remote or partially remote job opportunities, moving away from a big city may come with an earnings penalty in many industries, according to Venditti. For one, job candidates based in smaller or remote communities may have fewer opportunities to choose from. Labrie says her firm is now frequently dealing with job-seekers who will turn down jobs simply because they don’t allow for remote work.

But even when employers allow full-time work-from-home, they may adjust salaries down for workers based in lower-cost locations, Venditti says. A broad survey of North American companies by Willis Towers Watson, for example, found that 20 per cent of employers are taking into consideration an employee’s geographic locations when setting pay levels.