Toronto Company Removes Signs That Welcome People Back To The Office After Backlash

If you're heading back to the office after spending the past two years working from home, the last thing you want to be reminded of is your comfy sweatpants or sad dog. One Toronto company learned that the hard way.

Oxford, an investment and property management company, posted multiple signs to welcome people back to the office. These signs were reportedly posted at the WaterPark Place building on 20 Bay St. at the end of February, according to a Reddit poster.

One reads, "Seriously, we missed you," while others seem to tug more at your heartstrings, like "miss your sweatpants yet?" and "bet your dog's missing you."

The slogans were quickly met with backlash, with the photos being posted to both Reddit and Twitter multiple times.

"The dog one is the most condescending and belittling comment out of all of this," wrote one Reddit user.

"I don't think that's funny. I think it's rubbing it in," another stated.

However, the company has told Narcity that the signs "missed the mark" and were removed last week.

"With COVID-19 restrictions easing across Ontario, and an associated uptick in occupancy, signage was displayed to welcome customers back to our building," Oxford told Narcity.

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