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Since COVID hit, significantly more of Ontario’s workforce now labours from home (around 40%). Working remotely certainly has its attraction. Instead of waking up at 6:45 and crawling along the Gardiner Expressway for 45 to 60 minutes to arrive at work frazzled at 8:30, I now tumble out of bed at 8 and sit at my desk (AKA my dining room table), coffee in hand, by the same time. Work/family balance is also easier when you have time during the day for errands or to put a meal in the slow cooker or do load of laundry.

Sounds ideal, doesn’t it? But working from home is not without its challenges. It can be tough maintaining focus on work tasks, especially living with teens who are also at home learning (or not learning as the case may be) virtually. Whereas before the boundaries between work and personal life were fluid, they are now simply nonexistent.

So I was delighted to check out WorkSpaces by Hilton, which offers a creative alternative to working from home.

Available at special day rates, guests can arrive as early as 7 AM to check in to their ‘office’, a private guest room, equipped with desk, Wi-Fi, coffee and a complimentary Fuel Your Day snack bag to help them power through their work tasks. The program is available throughout most of Canada, including Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale and Hilton Toronto. I checked into the latter armed with my to-do list and a determination to cross off as many items as possible.

Before tackling my list, I briefly chatted with Suzanne Cinq-Mars, director of Sales and Marketing, about the initiative.

“We had to reinvent ourselves,” she said. “And think about the reasons why people stay in hotels.” Cinq-Mars explained that many businesses are closed to outsiders if not closed completely. “So if you need to meet your accountant or lawyer, for instance, what do you do?” Hilton offers a solution with a high level of cleanliness and sanitation that most office buildings can’t match. The program has been well-received with many professionals using the rooms as offices, some even reserving them on a weekly or monthly basis.

The first thing I did once I opened the door of my room (which had a safety seal to show that no one accessed the room after being cleaned) was change the position of the chair so that it was facing the window. High above the city, the streets looked peaceful, especially with a sprinkling of fresh snow on the ground. Looking at City Hall, I was reminded that Finnish architect, Viljo Revell, designed the modern building to symbolize an embrace, and I hoped that it would be a healing one for this pandemic year.

It could have been a mistake to move the chair. For it seemed even in this private space, it was not easy to focus. But I opened my laptop and started to work, and more importantly continued to work, stealing glances of the city skyline as dusk fell. I confess I didn’t finish as much as I had hoped, but I did feel much more relaxed while chipping away at my tasks. Indeed, I was amazed at how stress-free work could be away from the distraction and household obligations. Crazy as it sounds, it felt more like a daycation than a workday.

For the 40% who are working from home, WorkSpaces by Hilton is an option well-worth considering.