Office building welcomes back Toronto workers but people are hating how they did it

As the city continues to re-open, many businesses across Toronto have been welcoming employees back to the office. However, those stepping into the Richmond-Adelaide Centre at 120 Adelaide St W. have been greeted with some signage that was anything but welcoming.

A series of signs that seemed to mock employees for no longer being able to work from home were photographed in the building's lobby, with building owner Oxford Properties' logo prominently featured.

In the lobby of an office building in Toronto. I guess to make sure employees are flooded with resentment the instant they walk in the door? pic.twitter.com/oWUDofGvzK

— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) March 7, 2022

Needless to say,  people were furious over the message being sent here. Especially one sign that seemed to mock workers for no longer being able to spend time with their pets.

Here’s some ideas they had that didn’t make it to print.

“We bet your commute was lengthy lol”
“Childcare is expensive eh? 😂😂”

— The Graboid (@TheGraboid) March 7, 2022

It wasn't long before the photos found their way to social media, where they quickly went viral with reactions that ranged from shock and disbelief to pure rage.

These genuinely read like actively hateful messages holy shit what is the intention here 😂

— Seb Jones (@big_cheddars) March 7, 2022

Between a number of studies that have shown that working from home is actually beneficial to many employees, the fact that gas prices have risen so much that commuting to work is more costly than ever, and the sheer audacity of these signs, many commenters suggested that this would have been enough to make them quit on the spot.

Seriously, I would turn on my heel and go home.
I won't return to the office. They cannot compensate me enough. My productivity has improved, I get 3h back each day (priceless) and I don't have to share the air on public transit, or in my poorly ventilated office space. No thanks

— Sandy Segeren 🌻🇺🇦 🇨🇦🇿🇦🇳🇱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@ssinca95) March 7, 2022

When reached for a statement, Oxford Properties admitted their mistake and revealed that the photos were from last week and that the signage has already been removed.

"Unfortunately, in an attempt to be lighthearted the signage came off as uncaring, which was never our intention. The signage clearly missed the mark and was removed last week as a result," the media team at Oxford Communications told blogTO.

"The campaign should have not made it into production and we sincerely apologize to any customers, colleagues and members of the public that were offended."