'A totally rational time to take a pause'

With FIFA 2026 about to descend on Canadian cities, a B.C. academic says employers pushing return-to-office mandates should give workers a break — and forcing the issue could cost them goodwill they can't afford to lose.

"I think this is a totally rational time to take a pause on that return to work," says Jeff Casello, a professor in the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo.

"If you're requiring people to come into the office and they're experiencing really difficult transit circumstances, that's not going to gain you much favour as an employer."

The advice comes as new research from UKG estimates the tournament could drive at least US$17 billion in lost productivity across eight countries, with Canada accounting for roughly $479 million of that total.

A Deloitte Canada economic impact assessment, released by FIFA in December 2024, estimated the tournament could generate up to $940 million in positive economic output for the Greater Toronto Area alone — including $520 million in GDP growth and more than 6,600 jobs.

Transit systems under strain

For employers in Toronto and Vancouver — both FIFA 2026 host cities — the challenge isn't only productivity. Getting workers downtown at all may prove difficult.

Toronto Stadium is expected to host more than 45,000 spectators per match, while up to 20,000 additional people could attend the FIFA Fan Festival at Fort York National Historic Site and The Bentway on each of its up to 22 operational days between June 11 and July 19. The City of Toronto has confirmed there will be no public parking available at Toronto Stadium, Exhibition Place, or surrounding neighbourhoods including Liberty Village and Fort York — meaning transit will absorb the bulk of the added pressure.

Most visitors won't be arriving by car, according to Casello, and transit systems will feel it. The TTC is planning to run trains as frequently as every two minutes, he says, which represents close to the system's physical limit. Metrolinx is also planning increased service frequency.

Even with those measures, workers should expect conditions to deteriorate.

"You're going to have more frequent transit service, but it's going to be more crowded," says Casello.

Visitors unfamiliar with local systems will slow things down further — lengthening wait times and adding to vehicle volumes, he says.

Managers caught in middle

The pressure won't fall evenly across organizations. Casello says the challenge of managing flexible arrangements is playing out within his own institution — and he expects it to be widespread.

"We have some managers who are making decisions that folks don't need to be back in the office at the same rate as others," he says. "And we have other managers who are holding the corporate line. And it does create… some contention between units and between groups.”

The UKG survey, which polled 8,000 employees across eight countries, found that managers were significantly more likely than non-managers to request schedule changes around the tournament — 50% versus 34% — and to plan a day off altogether, at 42% versus 24%.

Transit agencies won't recover costs

Beyond the workplace disruption, Casello says there is a broader financial reality that cities and transit agencies are still working through. Running expanded service at mega-event scale is expensive, and fare revenue alone won't cover it.

"The city is deriving, I think, a big benefit from hotels and restaurants and all of the businesses in the city," he says.

"But the transit agencies that are providing the transportation services, they might get some fare revenue, but they probably won't cover their costs."