Working Quebecers give employers "B" and "C"
grades in year-end performance review: RBC study
Survey notes few "A"s as many Canadians happy
about their jobs
MONTRÉAL, December 20, 2007 — Working
Quebecers gave their employers a passing grade in a year-end
performance review that netted out five times as many B's
and C's than it did As. This is according to a new workplace
study from RBC which shows that while Quebecers are just as
satisfied with their jobs as they were in 1998, the percentage
that are "very satisfied" has dropped substantially.
The RBC Survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid and titled The
Competition for Canadian Talent, shows when it comes to
grading their employers overall as a place to work, Quebecers
are stingy with the marks, with only 14 per cent handing out
an "A" grade. Forty-four per cent handed out "B"
grades while 31 per cent think their employers are simply
average "C"s. Fewer than one in ten (8 per cent)
think their workplaces are worthy of no more than a "D"
overall, while three per cent offered up a failing grade.
"A report card full of Bs and Cs generally indicates
a need for improvement and this one isn't any different,"
said Christianne Paris, RBC's vice-president, Recruitment
and Learning. "Employers committed to being successful
are going to have to work harder and do better to attract
and retain valued employees in the current competitive landscape."
According to the survey, almost nine in ten (86 per cent)
Quebecers are satisfied with their jobs, but only one-third
(33 per cent) say they are very satisfied. This is a significant
change from 1998 when RBC last checked the pulse of the workplace
and over half (55 per cent) the working population said they
were very satisfied with their jobs.
| |
Very Satisfied |
| 2007 |
33
|
| 1998 |
55
|
| 1997 |
41
|
Those workers who tend to be most satisfied with their jobs
are older workers, those in senior management and those earning
more than $40,000 a year.
A good number of Quebecers are less than happy about their
jobs. Only half (48 per cent) of the survey respondents find
their work to be challenging and interesting, with 14 per
cent going so far as to say they find their jobs extremely
boring. Just under half (46 per cent) feel it is getting increasingly
difficult to make ends meet and 40 per cent consider their
jobs as just a way to make money rather than a career. Significantly
more Quebecers (40 per cent) simply think there are a lot
of good jobs, but no great jobs out there than those from
any other province while 31 per cent describe themselves as
being in a dead-end job.
Three-quarters (75 per cent) of Quebec's working population
say it's important to work for an employer whose values are
in line with their own, demonstrating that how a company conducts
its business also plays a huge role in how people feel about
their work and their employer. Also noteworthy is that almost
all (91 per cent) agree it is important to love and value
the type of work they do and more than half (56 per cent)
agree they need to be constantly challenged.
When it comes to personal relationships with their employers,
67 per cent agree they respect their employer, but less than
half (45 per cent) trust their employers or have a strong
sense of loyalty (47 per cent) to them. In fact, if offered
a comparable job with more pay somewhere else, only 27 per
cent would stay where they are. One in five (20 per cent)
working Quebecers thinks the atmosphere at their workplace
is depressing and one in ten (12 per cent) is concerned about
losing their job.
"The competition for good employees is already fierce
and it will continue to be even more so in the coming years
as the baby boomers get closer to retirement age," noted
Paris. "Creating inclusive working environments where
people of all generations want to work and feel good about
their jobs and their workplace is paramount to keeping this
country's economy moving ahead at full-steam."
These are some of the findings of an RBC poll conducted by
Ipsos Reid between November 5 and November 15, 2007. The online
survey is based on a randomly selected representative sample
of 2052 Canadian full and part-time workers, with 423 of those
in Quebec. With a representative sample of this size, the
results are considered accurate to within ±4.8 percentage
points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had
the entire adult Canadian population been polled. These data
were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional
and age composition reflects that of the actual employed Canadian
population according to the 2006 Census data.
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Media Contact:
Raymond Chouinard, (514)-874-6556
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