Amusement, outrage over entitled post on public servant Reddit

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OTTAWA — What happens when you live a 20-minute drive from work but refuse to get your licence, hate taking the bus and love going to the gym?

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When you’re a public servant with a mandate to only go into the office three days a week, you naturally apply for special dispensation to be excused from the government’s return-to-office mandate.

That was the tale that gripped Reddit’s home for Canadian public servants this week, after a user decided to air his grievances Thursday in a now-deleted post to /r/CanadaPublicServants.

“Though I live a 20-minute drive from my work office, I do not possess a driver’s licence and have no plans to ever get one,” wrote Reddit user Open_Caregiver_9130, who explained they live outside of the National Capital Region. 

“It takes me an hour one way to get to the office via public transit, adding two hours of commuting to my day for three days of week we are required to go into the office.”

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Having grown accustomed to working from home during the pandemic, public servants reacted with dismay after the government mandated workers a minimum of three days in the office starting Sept. 9 — a measure the unions have vowed to fight.

The user also expressed concern that no gym existed within walking distance of their office, and the government had no plans to provide access to one.

“I love my HQ team that I work with online from a region, but the commute and lack of concern for employees wellness and health at my office is not good for me. Is there anything I can do?” they concluded their message with.

“I repeatedly raise me issues with management and my colleagues on my team, but no accommodation offers have been provided.”

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The post, which as of the time of its deletion featured zero upvotes, garnered a somewhat hostile response from fellow public servants.

“Your post is dripping with entitlement and I suspect you will delete it shortly,” wrote user HandcuffsOfGold, the subreddit’s moderator and a reliable voice of reason in the group.

“The inconvenience of an hour-long transit commute a lack of an on-site gym are not violations of your human rights that require your employer to provide ‘accommodations’.”

Open_Caregiver_9130 also seemed to think that since “willingness to travel” wasn’t a condition of their employment, that should be grounds to allow work from home.

“Bruh, that’s called ‘going to work’” one user responded incredulously.

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“Come on…….you choose where to live, you choose not to get a license,” wrote another.

“Given everything you’ve listed there is no need for accommodation. Jeepers.”

The size of Canada’s public service swelled since the Trudeau Liberals took power, currently at a record high of nearly 368,000 employees.

That’s a 42% increase since 2015, while Canada’s population only grew by 14% over the same time period.

Polling conducted over the summer show a plurality of Canadians want to see the public service put in a crash diet, with 47% hoping to see public payrolls drastically reduced.

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X: @bryanpassifiume

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