Given The Chance To Change Jobs, More Workers Say Government Job (34%) Appealing To Them Than Working In Entertainment (27%)

Toronto, ON - The results of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of RBC finds that given the opportunity to change jobs and careers completely, one in three (34%) Canadian workers suggested that working for the government would be appealing to them, compared to fewer who said that working in the entertainment sector (27%) or as a consultant (20%) would be appealing. Some of the least-mentioned sectors that Canadians say they would find appealing include banking (8%), law (8%), accounting (9%) or financial services (11%).

A majority (52%) of Canadians indicate that they have a strong sense of loyalty to their employer. But when they were asked whether they would jump ship and defect to another employer who offered a comparable job with more pay, only three in ten (28%) said that they would stay with their current employers even if they could get a better deal elsewhere.

The data also reveal that the intentions of some to change jobs doesn't necessarily mean that they want to change employers. In fact, one third (36%) indicate that if they were to change jobs, they would prefer to move within their company rather than move to another employer. An equal proportion (36%) would prefer to move to another company if they were to change jobs, while three in ten (28%) are quite happy to stay with one employer in the same job for most of their career.

In the fight to attract and retain employees, Canadians have weighed in on which benefits they prefer to see when negotiating their contracts. Seven in ten (69%) mentioned that `higher pay' was among their top-three benefits, followed by significantly fewer who mentioned other benefits such as `better health and benefits coverage' (35%), `cash bonus or profit sharing incentives' (34%), `longer vacation time' (26%), `opportunity for advancement' (23%) and `company matched RRSPs' (22%). But for two in ten (20%), the `opportunity for increased work/life balance' is what they're after.

Thinking about how many times they have changed employers, the average Canadian has worked for 5 different companies during the course of their working life, having worked with their current employer for an average of 8 years now - unchanged when compared to data of ten years ago. However, this is heavily skewed by the fact that a majority (53%) of Canadians have been with their current employer for five years or less, and that only 13% have been working for the same company for twenty or more years.

Furthermore, Canadians intend to stay with their current employer for another 11 years, on average, with one quarter (24%) of individuals saying that they will stay the course for at least another 20 years. However, nearly one half (47%) plan to quit their current job at some point within the next five years.

To this effect, one third (31%) of Canadians say that their resume is always up-to-date because `you never know when you might have to look for a new job', while a similar proportion (30%) indicates that they have indeed `formally applied for a new job within the last year'. Thinking ahead to their future in the workforce, fully two thirds (66%) believe that they `have what it takes to succeed in the workplace in the next decade'.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of RBC from Nov 5 to Nov 15, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 2052 adult Canadians employed in either full-time or part-time work was interviewed online. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1772.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult working population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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