Nearly half of Canadians want to leave their job

Nearly half (49%) of Canadian workers are seriously considering leaving their current job, according to recruitment consultancy Hays Canada’s annual salary guide. This represents a 9-point increase from 2019.

Employees were most ready to leave their roles in Quebec (54%) and Ontario (52%).

Workers have been hammered by the pandemic, with remote work isolation, remote management issues, workforce cuts, and salary freezes weighing heavily on employees. Before the pandemic hit, 81% rated their wellbeing as “positive.” That number dropped to 64% in August, when the Hays survey was conducted.

The top factors affecting people’s wellbeing were a lack of social interaction (45%), isolation (27%), and increased workload.

Unfortunately, many workers haven’t been getting the wellbeing support they need. A majority of employers (54%) admitted they don’t have any employee wellness or mental health assistance programs in place.

Many companies have been in survival mode during the pandemic, however, focusing on maintaining day-to-day operations and preserving cash flow during a severe economic downturn. This has, unsurprisingly, resulted in job cuts and muzzled compensation levels. One-third of employer respondents said they have cut staff and 71% said they have frozen salaries. Only 19% plan to increase pay higher than annual cost-of-living adjustments, while 29% say that no salary increases are planned in the next year.

Ahead of the second Covid-19 wave in Canada, the employers polled in August were fairly optimistic. A majority (55%) said they were back to business as usual, while 19% said they were in growth mode after a locked-down second quarter.

Rebounding job figures back some of that optimism. Canada added 378,000 new jobs in September after seeing 246,000 job additions in August. The unemployment rate dropped to 9% in September, having previously reached a high of 13.7% in May.

It remains to be seen how the second wave of restrictions in Quebec, Ontario, and other provinces will affect job numbers in October and beyond.

“Covid-19 has left everyone exhausted and while many businesses are improving, staff are waving a white flag,” said Travis O’Rourke, president, Hays Canada. “Employees expect a company to have their best interests at heart and we’re now seeing evidence that unsupported teams look for better opportunities. Once we turn a corner on the pandemic or see more signs of job market strength, those employees are gone.”