Back to the office full-time? Tips to make 2026 easier

As 2026 begins, many Canadians are adjusting to a new (and sometimes daunting) reality: more employers are tightening in-office requirements, bringing back longer commutes and more rigid schedules. Several banks—including BMO, Scotiabank, and RBC—have already told staff to increase their in-office presence to four days per week. Global News+2Bloomberg+2

This shift isn’t limited to Canadian finance. Amazon moved its corporate staff to five days per week in the office starting January 2, 2025, signaling how quickly some organizations are moving away from hybrid norms. And in Ontario, the provincial government has announced that the Ontario Public Service and its agencies will return to the office full time (five days/week) effective January 5, 2026. Ontario Newsroom

For professionals, caregivers, and families, the practical impact is simple: time gets tighter. And when time is tight, the things that keep you healthy - physioyherrapy, massage therapy, foot care, orthotics, routine check-ins, are often the first to be delayed.

What “more days in-office” really costs

Even if you like being in an office, the return to full-time (or near full-time) on-site work often adds:

• More commuting time (and unpredictability)
• Fewer flexible gaps to run errands or book appointments
• More evening/weekend compression, especially for parents and caregivers
• More sedentary hours, which can amplify neck/back tension, headaches, and repetitive strain

When you’re already stretching to fit work, family, and rest into the same week, healthcare can start to feel like “one more thing.”

A practical approach: reduce friction wherever you can

The goal in 2026 doesn’t have to be squeezing more into your schedule. It can be removing steps - fewer trips, fewer decisions, fewer “extra errands” that turn into half-days.

Tips to make life easier as you settle into full-time office routines

1) Build buffer time into commute days
Pick a realistic “commute-plus” window (traffic, transit delays, parking). Even 10–15 minutes of buffer on both ends can prevent one delay from cascading into your whole evening.

2) Create two “admin blocks” per week
Instead of managing life in tiny fragments every day, batch the essentials:

• booking appointments
• refilling prescriptions
• groceries/household orders
• school forms and scheduling
  Two short blocks (e.g., Tuesday + Sunday) can reduce daily mental load.

3) Make weeknights easier with default meals
Keep 2–3 reliable, low-effort dinners on rotation. Defaults help on high-commute days when decision fatigue is real.

4) Keep a “work bag kit” so mornings don’t spiral
A spare charger, pain relief basics, a snack, water bottle, transit card, and a compact umbrella - small backups reduce stress and avoid last-minute detours.

5) Protect your body from “desk + commute” strain
Try a simple rule: 2 minutes of movement every hour (walk, shoulder rolls, calf raises, gentle spinal twists). It sounds small, but consistency matters more than intensity.

6) Use appointment “themes” to stay consistent
Instead of booking care only when something hurts, try a rhythm:

• “First week of the month” = healthcare scheduling
• “Mid-month” = check posture/ergonomics and adjust
  Routines reduce the chance that care becomes a big planning project.

Where in-home care can help

If one of your biggest barriers is the time cost of getting to appointments, in-home or on-site care can be a practical option - especially when your calendar is rigid.

HealthCasa provides services such as physiotherapy, massage therapy, foot care, and orthotics delivered where you are - most often in your home, and in many cases at your office/workplace. That matters because the hardest part of “keeping up with care” in a full-time office routine isn’t usually the appointment itself - it’s everything around it: commuting to a clinic, finding parking, waiting, and reshuffling your day.

Here’s what getting care in your home (or at your office) can change:

• No extra trip across town. You don’t have to add another commute after work or carve out a long midday break to travel to a clinic. You simply show up - at home, or in a private office/meeting room at work.
• Less disruption to the workday. When you’re in-office most days, even a “quick appointment” can snowball into lost time. On-site care can fit into the edges of the day (early morning, evening) or a predictable block, without the logistics that make follow-through hard.
• More realistic scheduling. Appointments can often be arranged outside standard clinic hours, which is especially helpful when your calendar is locked into office hours and commuting windows.
• Care that’s tailored to your real environment. In-home sessions let practitioners see the realities that contribute to pain or strain - your desk setup, footwear you actually wear, stairs, how you move through your space and give practical, specific recommendations that are easier to apply than generic advice.
• Better adherence over time. When care is easier to access, people are more likely to keep appointments, do the follow-up exercises, and address issues earlier, before something small becomes a bigger problem.
• A calmer experience overall. Skipping traffic, clinic waiting rooms, and last-minute schedule changes reduces stress, so the care actually feels restorative, not like another task.

‍

The bigger idea is simple: as work becomes less flexible, it helps when healthcare becomes more flexible.

‍