Working Canadians give employers a "B" grade in
year-end performance review: RBC study
Survey notes few "A"s as many Canadians happy
about their job
TORONTO, December 20, 2007 — Working Canadians
gave their employers a passing grade in a year-end performance
review that netted out four 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 Canadians are just as satisfied
with their jobs as they were in 1998, the percentage of "very
satisfied" working Canadians 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, Canadians
are stingy with the marks, with fewer than one in five workers
(18 per cent) handing out an "A" grade. Forty-three
per cent handed out "B" grades while 28 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)
Canadians are satisfied with their jobs, but only one-third
(36 per cent) say they are very satisfied. This is a significant
change from 1998 when RBC last checked the pulse of the Canadian
workplace and half (49 per cent) the working population said
they were very satisfied with their jobs.
| |
Very Satisfied |
Somewhat Satisfied |
Somewhat Dissatisfied |
Very Dissatisfied |
| 2007 |
36%
|
50%
|
10%
|
4%
|
| 1998 |
49%
|
36%
|
8%
|
6%
|
| 1997 |
47%
|
39%
|
9%
|
5%
|
| 1996 |
42%
|
46%
|
8%
|
4%
|
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 Canadians are less than happy about their
jobs. Only half (51 per cent) of the survey respondents find
their work to be challenging and interesting, with 15 per
cent going so far as to say they find their jobs extremely
boring. Just under half (47 per cent) feel it is getting increasingly
difficult to make ends meet and 38 per cent consider their
jobs as just a way to make money rather than a career. One-third
(32 per cent) simply think there are a lot of good jobs, but
no great jobs out there while 28 per cent describe themselves
as being in a dead-end job.
Three-quarters (74 per cent) of Canada'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 (87 per cent) agree it is important to love and value
the type of work they do and more than half (63 per cent)
agree they need to be constantly challenged.
When it comes to personal relationships with their employers,
59 per cent agree they respect their employer, but only half
(48 per cent) trust their employers or have a strong sense
of loyalty (52 per cent) to them. In fact, if offered a comparable
job with more pay somewhere else, 28 per cent would stay where
they are. The same percentage (23 per cent) that consider
the atmosphere at their workplace to be depressing also think
their employers care only about shareholders. Fourteen per
cent are concerned about losing their job.
"The competition for working Canadians 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."
This is the first of a series of surveys on the Canadian
workforce conducted for RBC by Ipsos Reid. 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 a representative sample of
this size, the results are considered accurate to within ±2.2
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.
- 30 -
Media Contact:
Judi Levita, (416) 974-8810
|
