Nearly 20% of workers do unpaid work for employer in free time: StatCan survey report

File image of a group of employees working. (Pexels/Photo by fauxels)

A new survey report by Statistics Canada on the working conditions in Canada found that nearly one-fifth of respondents spend their free time performing unpaid labour.

The survey, conducted between 2024 and 2025, found that 17 per cent of the total people surveyed do unpaid, unscheduled work in their free time several times a month.

The StatCan report, which was aimed at better understanding the working conditions of Canadians and the quality of employment in the country, found that those who perform unpaid labour generally comprise of management and professional occupations, which typically require a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Published on Friday, the report also found that more than half the management employees surveyed said they “frequently” worked with tight deadlines, which is nearly 20 per cent higher than workers whose jobs require a high school diploma or less.

How supportive are co-workers and managers?

The survey found that most employees have supportive co-workers, with the majority reporting that their colleagues and managers were usually encouraging.

More than 80 per cent of people who worked in construction were more likely to have the support of their colleagues, while nearly the same percentage of finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing and natural resources employees reported being supported by their managers.

However, both health-care and social assistance workers were reported to have received the lowest support from their managers.

Those who work in transportation and warehousing said it was not common to receive frequent support from their managers, and the report also found they were the “least likely” to receive frequent help from their colleagues.

The survey found that employees from racialized groups were least likely to get support from their colleagues, compared to non-racialized and non-Indigenous groups.

Exposure to physical risks

The survey report also found that “ergonomic risks” - repetitive hand or arm movements – were the most common physical risk, faced by more than half of the surveyed workers.

The occupations that had the most ergonomic risks were natural resources, agriculture and related production, trades, transport and equipment operators, as well as manufacturing and utilities.

“Ambient physical risk” – high and low temperatures or loud noises – was the second-most common type of physical risk, with nearly 30 per cent of surveyed workers reporting they were often exposed to it from similar occupations as the ergonomic risks.

However, almost one-in-five people who work in health care have reported being exposed to biological and chemical risks. This is much less common for anyone who works any other fields.

The likelihood of being exposed to physical risks was substantially lower among people who had a bachelor’s degree or higher education, the survey found.

The perils of health care and 10-hour work days

More than one-third of all health-care workers surveyed said they were regularly dealing with angry or dissatisfied clients and patients, more than double of all other occupations.

However, women reported at a higher rate than men that they held positions that involved dealing with unhappy, angry clients, the report said.

Meanwhile, the report said two-in-five men worked more than 10 hours a day at least once a month, and were more likely to work nights at least once a month.

“Two-thirds of workers in natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations usually worked over 10 hours a day at least once a month,” the survey report said.

Who has the most flexibility?

According to the survey report, people who work in scientific and technical services have the most flexibility around their work schedules.

The majority of Canadians had their schedules set by their employer, but more than one-quarter had adaptable working hours, under 10 per cent reported they could choose between schedules, and a little more than six per cent said they could determine their own hours.

“Employees in the professional, scientific and technical services industry were the most likely (58.3 per cent) to report being able to adapt their schedule or determine their own working hours,” the survey said.

Job satisfaction

According to the report, more than four in five Canadians felt like they were doing useful work most of the time.

“Workers in agriculture and construction were most likely to indicate that they had the feeling of doing useful work a majority of the time,” the survey said. “The proportion was also above the national average in health care and social assistance.”