A new survey shows that compensation is no longer the top priority for Canadian workers. They would be willing to make concessions on this in exchange for better well-being.
According to a survey by Morneau Shepell of 8,000 people in Canada, the United States and England, 77% of Canadian employees are ready to change jobs for better support in terms of well-being, for the same salary. And even if the salary were less attractive, there are still 60% of the respondents who would be ready to leave, even of those who say they are facing high financial stress.
In addition, Canadians seem to take mental health the most seriously: 76% of them cite their employer’s efforts to promote mental health as a determining factor in their desire to stay at their job, compared to 71% of respondents in the United States and 69% of those in England.
A consequence of increased stress
If mental health takes on such importance, overtaking compensation among the priorities of Canadian employees, it is largely because of stress caused by work or the workplace, for 22% of respondents, and by financial well-being for 21%. According to 45% of employees, the psychological demands related to their job have increased over the last 18 to 24 months, with situations such as problem solving, the need to adapt to change and creativity requirements being cited among the main factors.
What are the solutions?
The solutions demanded? Speech therapy for 53% of Canadian employees, a digital mindfulness or meditation program (43%) and skills development or cognitive behavioural therapy (38%).
Morneau Shepell advises employers to take this data into account in their recruitment and retention strategy if they want to attract and retain employees in a context of labour shortage: integrating employee requirements in terms of well-being and mental health would allow them to stand out from the competition and to be among the employers sought and valued.