BIPOC Canadians are three times more likely to state they have been let go from their company because of COVID-19, survey finds
New research by the Canadian Workplace Culture Index and Angus Reid, share shocking insights into race, generational differences and the impact of COVID-19 in the workplace.
Vancouver, BC (October 18, 2021) – A recent survey of employed Canadians indicates positive workplace cultures have diminished, employee retention is becoming harder, and 60 percent of employees will leave their current position if offered a raise for as little as 10 percent.
The Canadian Workplace Culture Index (CWCI) and The Angus Reid Institute set out to use an innovative conversational chat survey to gather Canadian’s opinions about workplace culture and create an index or benchmark of Canadians’ opinion about workplace culture, in the midst of the global COVID pandemic. In May of 2021, they conducted a survey consisting of employees across Canada from workplaces of various sizes and industries.
“There were many surprising results to come out of this survey, not least of which was that BIPOC Canadians were three times more likely to have lost their job as a result of COVID-19,” said CWCI Founder and CEO Antonio Zivanovic. “Additionally, the feedback that large companies have the largest percentage of loyalty was a surprise, but shows that these organizations are the ones making strides in employee retention.”
Key Insights:
- BIPOC Canadians are three times more likely to state they have been let go from their company because of COVID-19
- 60 percent of Canadians say they’d leave their current job for the same position at another organization for a 10 percent raise
- More than 30 percent of Canadians believe that people get away with bullying at their organizations
Sectors: Services and Consulting rank high in workplace culture
- Employees in the Services and Consulting sector reported significantly higher scores across all workplace attributes
- Employees in the Food and Beverage sector reported much lower scores across all workplace attributes. This may be impacted by the state of food and beverage employment as a result of the pandemic at the time of surveying
Loyalty and satisfaction: Employees under 35 are twice as likely to leave their positions for a 10 percent salary increase than those over 45
- Overall, the youngest Canadians are less happy with their jobs, least likely to agree that their organization is a good fit for them and least likely to see themselves working at the same organization in five years
- Employees over 35 years of age showed higher levels of workplace satisfaction and loyalty than employees under 35
- While those 55+ showed higher rates of job satisfaction, responding more positively to all loyalty and satisfaction-related statements than any other age group
- Organizations with more than 500 employees reported a higher level of loyalty than any other sized organization
- Younger employees, under 35, are nearly twice as likely to leave their positions for a 10 percent salary increase than those over 45
- Employees in the Prairies (excluding Alberta) were more likely to disagree with the statement that “Every voice is welcome, heard, and respected at my company”
- Additionally, employees in this region are twice as likely to agree with the statement that “People get away with bullying” than those in BC or Ontario
COVID-19: Canadians under 25 years of age more likely to be let go from their company because of COVID than any other age group
- Women (64 percent) were more likely than men (42 percent) to be working from home (all or some of the time) when they had previously been in an office due to COVID
- Canadians in Ontario (60 percent) and Quebec (85 percent) were much more likely than their counterparts in BC (44 percent), Alberta (44 percent), The Prairies (34 percent), or Atlantic Canada (43 percent) to be working from home (all or some of the time) when they had previously been in an office due to COVID
- Canadians who were under 25 years of age were much more likely to have been let go from a company because of COVID than other age groups; 2.5x more likely than 25-34-year-olds; more than 7x more likely than those 35 and older
Canadian businesses can now compare how they stack up against this data thanks to the official launch of The Canadian Workplace Culture Index (CWCI) in September 2021. Developed by The ReFrame Group with research support provided by The Angus Reid Institute who interviewed 1,000 employees from across Canada, CWCI launches at a time when Canadian employers from various industries are experiencing a major labour shortage, dubbed by media “The Great Resignation.”
CWCI consists of an index, research and certification program that provides insights into workplace culture, help employers nurture exceptional organizational culture, and share strategies on how to better retain talent.
“Improving workplace culture has a profound effect on the productivity and creativity of a company’s workforce and, in turn, the profitability and growth rates of that organization,” said Zivanovic. “The CWCI is the only certification of its kind that compares honest anonymous employee feedback to an index of Canadian employees’ attitudes to workplace culture.”
For more information on the CWCI, methodology, pricing or to get started, visit cultureindex.io.
