Most Canadians who want work can find it - the unemployment rate is at a 30-year low - but the quality of their jobs has not improved in many respects, according to a study released today.
"Economic prosperity has not brought commensurate gains to workers in terms of better job quality since the turn of the millennium," researcher Graham Lowe wrote in a Labour Day report issued by Canadian Policy Research Networks, an Ottawa-based research organization.
Long hours, stress and unpaid overtime remain a problem for many employees, he said.
There has been a decline in the provision of employer-sponsored pension plans, and there has been no improvement in the level of job-related training offered to employees since 2001, Mr. Lowe wrote in his report, 21st Century Job Quality: Achieving What Canadians Want.
"It is widely assumed, and supported by research, that providing workers with more control over their work schedules enables them to better meet their personal and family needs and indirectly contributes to productivity," the report said.
"This being the case, it is not good news that, between 1999 and 2003, the incidence of flexible work hours fell, from about 40 per cent to just over 36 per cent."
More than 25 per cent of Canadians work more than 40 hours a week "and almost one in four report overtime hours, mostly unpaid," according to the report.
However, employers should be aware that the labour market will only get tighter as the baby boom generation moves into retirement range. Those who improve working conditions will have a competitive edge in retaining older workers, as well as attracting younger ones, Mr. Lowe wrote.
"Canadian researchers have discovered that job stress pushes individuals into early retirement. Another study found that ´being able to do what you are really good at´ was the biggest incentive for older workers to consider delaying retirement for several years."
While compensation and job security remain vitally important, there are also a number of non-monetary components that employees look for in a job.
"This is where job quality comes into play."
In a recent survey of more than 2,000 adult Canadians, more than 60 per cent rated the following job features as "very important" - a workplace free of harassment and discrimination; a safe and healthy workplace; trustworthy senior management; work-life balance; job security; good pay and a sense of pride and accomplishment, Mr. Lowe wrote.
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