While some students rush through downtown Toronto trying to reach their office building by 9:00 am, others placidly sit in the comfort of their apartments, turning their computers on at 8:59 am — the good ol’ perks of online working. 

Hybrid and remote internships have been normalized, especially post-pandemic. However, as offices begin to open their doors to more interns, banks like BMO, Scotiabank, RBC, and TD are requiring more in-person office days each week. 

The Varsity interviewed three U of T students to understand our generation’s thoughts on hybrid working. 

Pyjamas and productivity?

Jack Lai is a second-year management and international business student, currently interning remotely at WorkSport Ltd, a truck bed cover manufacturer. In an interview with The Varsity, he said, “Any kind of traffic is absolutely horrible, so [when] I get to stay in my home most of the time, [I can spend it] working, cooking, then maybe play video games and save all my travelling time.”

While working from home is convenient, it can be unproductive. “The con is sometimes I’m really lazy and [am] not able to prioritize,” Lai said. “There is no single line separating work and rest.” He hopes that more days in the office will come by as he enjoys the synergy of working with others.

A hybrid internship — neither here nor there

Nicole D’Souza, a second-year student studying management and international business, shares her thoughts on her current lifestyle working at OPTrust, a pension fund manager: two days in the office and three days online. 

She admits that it is a convenient lifestyle for those who have to commute long distances to work. However, she finds it hard to concentrate when working remotely.

According to D’Souza, her workplace will soon require employees to come in-person for three days instead of two, and she is looking forward to this as she wrote in a text to The Varsity, “I prefer to go into [the] office as most interns [do] as we’re able to connect with a lot of people… and learn about why they chose to work at OPTrust.”

The in-person internship

Sabrina Tahir, a second-year student studying business management, lived the downtown office life this summer. In an interview with The Varsity, she shared what a typical workday looks like for her as an intern at First National, a non-bank commercial and residential mortgage lending service.

“I would come into the office [at] around 8:30 am and… first look at my work from the night before… and [send] emails to the manager,” she says. “Then I would get started on the next day and… work for about four hours just collecting all the data, and… take my lunch around 12:00 pm or 1:00 pm. I would just hang out with other interns and… come back, double-check all my work, then ask any questions [to my manager before] I leave around 5:00 pm.” 

Tahir talks about how the community you have when working in-person makes a big difference. “When you’re at home, you’re kind of isolated and you’re doing your own thing. But when you go and commute and see a bunch of people and talk to people, talk to other interns, it kind of brings up your mood as well,” she said.

The future of hybrid work

The finance industry is increasingly mandating employees to spend at least four days in the office a week.

Students have varied opinions on this. They often look for networking opportunities and mentorship through their internships, but remote working does not always give them the chance to do so. On the contrary, some worry about flexibility. “I have less rest time,” Lai said about working in person.

This divide creates a lot of uncertainty — for example, while the Ford government announced the elimination of hybrid work across the Ontario Public Service, the City of Mississauga will still allow its employees to work remotely two days a week. Given this, it is likely that student interns will be asked to navigate both digital and in-person work options.