Almost half of Canadian workers set to walk out the door: poll

It would appear that many Canadian workers are fed up and don't want to take it anymore.

A study by recruitment firm Hays Canada, which looks at the sentiments of business and the labour force, has found a “significant disconnect between Canadian employers and employees.”

In fact, some of the findings were so worrying that it released the 2021 Hays Salary Guide two months early.

On the one hand most employers said they were confident about the economy and employment outlook heading into the last quarter of 2020. Fifty-five per cent of companies said they were back to business as usual and 19 per cent saw themselves as growing after the worst of the pandemic slowdown.

The past six months, however, have taken a harsher toll on employees.

The survey found that 49 per cent of employees were seriously considering leaving their current role, a nine percentage point jump from last year. In some provinces it is even worse. Hays said it released its report two months early to draw attention to the fact that 52 per cent of Ontario employees say they are ready to leave their jobs. In Quebec, it's 54 per cent.

Early in the year 81 per cent of employees were positive about their well-being. That fell to 64 per cent in the latest survey. The lack of social interaction from remote working, increased workloads and a lack of support from their bosses have all weighed on workers.

Nor do they appear to be getting much help, with 54 per cent of employers admitting they were doing nothing to assist employees with their wellness or mental health.

“Canadian employers are navigating difficult headwinds but the growing number of employees who want to leave their role, even in the face of a tentative job market, is a big problem,” said Hays Canada president Travis O'Rourke. “COVID-19 has left everyone exhausted and while many businesses are improving, staff are waving a white flag.”

The short-term outlook isn't much better. Hays found that employers were “treading water.” A third of those surveyed cut staff because of the pandemic and 71 per cent froze salaries. In the future, they expect to just recoup the head count rather than increase their workforces.