Many Canadians feeling burnt out as they return to workplaces

Has your job burned you out? A study earlier this year reported a little over one-third of all working Canadians are feeling overworked and undervalued.

As COVID restrictions ease and employers ask staff to stop working from home and return to the office, experts fear resignations will spike.

“Employers are living in this perpetual state of anxiety wondering who is going to leave next,” said Nicole Davidson, CEO of Beacon HR.

In a new survey of more than 800 senior managers in Canada, 55 per cent said they want their teams to work on-site full time as COVID-19 restrictions ease. Davidson warns could result in a lot more employees handing in their resignation.

“Hybrid work is definitely here to stay and employers asking team members to come back in office without re-examining their culture as a whole are going to miss out. There’s no one size fits all anymore, the employers who are going to win are the ones who take time to intentionally design their workplaces,” Davidson explained.

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Debby Carreau, CEO of Inspires HR says for many staff who are used to working form home, their workflow will change drastically to a point that may interrupt their productivity.

“As we look at burnout there is a real risk when bringing people back into the office, because our workflow is going to change, hours are going to change because we are probably adding an hour, hour and a half to our day with getting ready and the commute,” Carreau said.

However, some companies are turning towards innovative solutions to try and keep their employees happy and find a middle ground that benefits both the company and employee.

Ross Wainwright, CEO of Alida Inc., a tech firm with offices in Vancouver and around the world, has decided to implement a four day work week for its 500 employees. The pilot project will run from July to August and he hopes employees won’t have to add more hours Monday through Thursday, but instead they will use time more efficiently.

“It’s a productivity piece, so we are thinking in April what if we just cancel all recurring meetings? Some may come back on the calendar but others may disappear all together. Or can we do a 60 minute meeting in 45? Or a 30 in 15?,” explained Wainwright.

However, Carreau argues that in order to reduce the work week, employers must also reduce hours and workload in order to make the four day week worthwhile and effective.

“The one thing about the four day work week, it can be really effective, but four, 10 hour days does not reduce the problem. What fixes it is if you reduce the hours you are working, manage by objectives and deliverables, not the amount of time people are punching the clock,” Carreau argued.

So, if you’re not seeing the changes at your current job that you’d like, should you jump ship? Experts suggest you wait a little longer.

“The data is starting to show us a lot of people changing jobs are regretting it, it’s been two years of life not being normal, so wait to see what the new normal will be at your workplace because the grass isn’t always greener and most of the time it probably is not,” suggested Carreau.