Source: benefitscanada.com

Three-quarters (74 per cent) of Canadian employees say they have or would turn down a job opportunity because an employer’s culture didn’t feel like the right fit, in line with seven in 10 global respondents who said the same, according to a new survey by Dayforce Inc.

The survey, which polled more than 9,400 global employees who work at organizations with more than 100 workers, found 59 per cent of Canadian employees said they’re actively looking for a new job or open to new opportunities, down from 66 per cent in 2023.

Half (51 per cent) of Canadian workers said they feel proud of where they work. Among all respondents, seven in 10 (69 per cent) executives said they’re proud of where they work, compared to 50 per cent of people managers and just 42 per cent of workers.

Canadian respondents said that improving culture can have outsized benefits, including increased employee engagement (53 per cent), improved mental health (54 per cent) and increased motivation (46 per cent). Indeed, eight in 10 (78 per cent) global respondents said they’ve experienced symptoms of burnout in the past year, down slightly from last year (82 per cent).

Notably, 61 per cent of all respondents said diversity is very or extremely important to company culture. Employees (55 per cent) were far less likely than executives (78 per cent) to say they could be themselves at work all or most of the time.

“For organizations, cultivating a strong culture is a constant balancing act between productivity and agility and creating a space where people can do their best work,” said Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, chief people officer at Dayforce, in a press release. “Our research shows that organizations that invest in culture — specifically, aligning their benefits, initiatives and technology with the needs of their people — will have an advantage when attracting and retaining top talent and building a high-performing workforce.”