As March looms, we approach the fourth anniversary of Canada’s initial Pandemic lockdown.
The response to the emerging Covid-19 virus—including a temporary shuttering of many businesses and offices—spurred an unprecedented surge in Canadians working from home (and not working at all).
Digitalization and automation were “already well underway before the pandemic and COVID-19 accelerated it,” according to the government, which is accurate—but the abrupt and forced normalization of remote work triggered a “new normal” of expectations amongst Canada’s tech talent.
“The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a work realignment already in progress, and transformed our understanding of success, purpose and value,” EY’s 2023 Work Reimagined Survey reads, stating that “Dramatic changes in the ways we work and think about work have caused a tidal shift in how we view our priorities and prospects in daily life.”
Publications like TechTalent.ca have interviewed experts, analyzed reports, and spoke at length about the myriad aspects of remote and hybrid work—from its pros and cons to the impacts that reach workers, executives, and even physical office buildings.
Now, a B.C. artist is releasing a documentary about the subject.
Based in Vancouver since 2006, Julien Capraro directed his first documentary, The Last Key, in 2017.
Work Different, Capraro’s second National Film Board of Canada documentary, asks big questions, like: “How has working remotely reshaped the workplace—and our lives?” And: “With COVID-19 now behind us, knowing that the economy can get along just fine with an at-home workforce, should we go back to the office?”
This subject continues to spark important reflections, the filmmaker believes. Looking closely at a work model whose roots go back to the 1960s, Work Different examines the origins, impacts, upsides, and uncertainties of remote work.
The 50-minute film premieres in Montreal at the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma on February 28, followed by a Vancouver premiere on February 29 in association with Visions Ouest Productions at the 30th Rendez-vous French Film Festival.
Work Different will be available to watch online for free starting March 1.
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