Canadian workers among the world’s most stressed, global survey finds

In this file photo, a worker is shown in an office in the financial district of London, Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Alberto Pezzali

Canadian workers are among the most stressed in the world, even if most say they’re thriving, a new Gallup survey has found.

Published Wednesday, this year’s State of the Global Workplace Report asked more than 225,000 workers around the world about their experiences on the job and in their lives generally.

Among them, Canadian respondents gave higher-than-average ratings for their lives on the whole, but also some of the highest rates of daily stress.

Asked to rate their life’s circumstances, 33 per cent of global respondents were considered “thriving” by Gallup, with a majority “struggling” at 58 per cent, and nine per cent rating low enough to be considered “suffering.”

Thriving employees rated their current circumstances at seven out of 10 or higher, with their expectations for the future rating eight or higher.

Fifty-three per cent of Canadians were rated as thriving; more than in the United States (52 per cent) and Europe (47 per cent), and behind only Australia and New Zealand (56 per cent), Latin America and the Caribbean (54 per cent), by region.

That relatively high rating for Canadian success may come at a cost.

While Canada reported low or near-average rates of negative feelings like anger (19 per cent), sadness (23 per cent) or loneliness (16 per cent), nearly six in 10 respondents told surveyors they experienced stress “a lot of the day,” a full 18 percentage points higher than the global rate, and more than any regional average.

Well-being, job engagement on the decline

Gallup notes that North American workers have shown declining satisfaction in recent years, with the number of “thriving” employees down to 52 per cent from 60 in 2011.

The report attributes the drop in satisfaction to the cost of living, including housing and inflationary pressures, but notes that engagement or interest in jobs can contribute -- a metric that’s also showing trouble.

Asked a series of questions about their connection to their workplace, from clarity in expectations, to personal growth, to friendships with colleagues, just 21 per cent of respondents globally were rated as engaged with their jobs, enthusiastic about work and interested in moving their organizations forward.

By far the largest group, 62 per cent, were not engaged, “psychologically unattached” with their work, and putting in time but not “energy or passion,” the group the most likely to practice “quietly quitting.”

Worst of all, 17 per cent of global respondents were found to be “actively disengaged,” showing resentment at unmet needs and “acting out their unhappiness.”

The survey found that 50 per cent of all respondents were watching for or actively seeking a new job.

“We are witnessing a pivotal moment in the global workplace — one where engagement is faltering at the exact time artificial intelligence is transforming every industry in its path,” wrote Gallup CEO Jon Clifton in the report’s foreword.

“We stand at the edge of a new era of work.”