With Mental Health and Optimism Shaken by Pandemic, Young Canadians Less Confident in Job Prospects for Future

Toronto, ON, March 5, 2021 — What has been the effect of a year of virtual learning and working from home on young Canadians? A recent poll by Ipsos carried out on behalf of RBC Royal Bank has found that young Canadians aged 14-29 are worried about the long-lasting impacts of the pandemic on their future, with significant decreases in the proportion who believe that they can get their dream job. This lack of optimism about the future can trigger a vicious cycle of job dissatisfaction and underemployment, which in turn exacerbates already poor mental health.

The pandemic has certainly had an impact on how young Canadians see the world; half (51%) say that the pandemic has negatively impacted their mental health and a slightly smaller (yet still significant) proportion (45%) say that the pandemic has negatively impacted their optimism for future. In addition, young women are more likely to say they feel pressured to succeed (64% v. 57% among young men). They are also less likely to say they’re doing just as well as other people their age (52% v. 58% among young men). This sense of pessimism among younger generations will have long-lasting implications, as it affects their self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and work productivity even after the pandemic is behind us.

In-Person Education: Nothing Like the Real Thing?

Taking stock of the current state of education during a pandemic goes part of the way in understanding why young Canadians are feeling more distressed and less optimistic. Seven in ten (70%) young Canadians are learning remotely in some way, with three in ten (28%) saying that they are attending classes exclusively online. Although instructors are trying to offer the best virtual learning experience they can, there is the sense that online education is falling short in some ways. Nearly half (45%) of young Canadians currently studying believe that the education they are receiving is doing a worse job of preparing them for their desired career. As if young people weren’t already worried enough about being able to go out into the world and find a job, added to this is now the concern that they are not getting the same preparation as in-person schooling would have given them.

As such, it is perhaps not surprising that just over half of young Canadians are confident they have the knowledge and skills needed to find the jobs they want (54%), a steep sixteen-point drop from 2015. A similar proportion say they are confident they will be able to get a job in the field they want to work in (54%), also a sixteen-point drop from the previous wave six years ago. Such drastic declines in a relatively short period of time can only point to the destabilizing effects of the pandemic.

The Lasting Effects of Early Career Setbacks

Young Canadians who are currently in the workforce are having no less difficult of a time seeing a brighter future for themselves. More than half (53%) have faced some kind of severe job interruption, be it through some combination of having their hours or pay reduced (30%), lay-offs (16%), or a circumstance that led them to receive CERB or EI (28%). There are no significant differences along gender or region, highlighting how the current situation has affected young people of all genders nationwide. However, the relationship between job situation and mental health is unmistakable; nearly two-thirds (63%) of those who report having poor mental health have experienced severe job interruption as a result of the pandemic.

In addition, nearly half (47%) of young Canadians either working or in an internship say that they are working from home to some extent, with 27% saying they are working from home full-time. Although all genders are equally likely to say that they’re working from home to some extent, previous research has pointed to evidence of “she-cession”, whereby job losses have disproportionately affected women, and even those women who continue to work are more likely to take on tasks related to caring for children or a family member. For those women simultaneously working from home and tending to the home, decreased visibility and “face time” with colleagues and bosses from not being in the office may continue to impact gender equality in the workplace for years to come.

Young Canadians Hungry for On-the-Job Experience, Upskilling, and Networking

When asked what skills or experiences they believe either helped or would help them get a job in their chosen career path, practical work experience topped the list (39%), followed by upskilling (33%) and networking (33%). Of equal importance were mental health considerations, such as building confidence (32%). Other ways that young Canadians believe that they can improve their chances of landing their dream job are:

Ways to Improve Chances of Getting Job in Chosen Career Path

(among adults currently working)

Young women are more likely to say they believe that practical work experience (43% v. 35% among young men), networking (37% v. 29% among young men), and building confidence (37% v. 27% among young men) would be most beneficial to getting a job on their chosen career path. There is also a large difference between those who report having good and poor mental health when it comes to wanting to build up their confidence; 42% of those who report poor mental health say it would improve their chances of getting a job they want (compared to 29% of those reporting good mental health).

Furthermore, young Canadians are not just talking the talk; they are also walking the walk by actively seeking out information and opportunities to improve their chances on the job market. A third (34%) of young Canadians aged 14-29 say that they either “frequently” or “often” look for career opportunities (34%), while a similar proportion (32%) say they seek out education, training, and professional development (32%). Networking (21%), mental health support and services (20%), and mentorship opportunities (17%) round out the list. Understandably, these proportions are higher among those working full-time. Furthermore, the role of mental health should not be ignored; three in ten (29%) who say they have poor mental health say they “frequently” or “often” look for mental health supports and services, while those with good mental health more likely to seek out those networking opportunities that are so desired (27% v. 15% among those self-reporting poor mental health).

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between November 4 and 17, 2020, on behalf of RBC Royal Bank in support of its Future Launch program. For this survey, a sample of 1,800 young Canadians (aged 14-29 years) was interviewed, in both English and French. For those under 18 years of age, permission from a parent/guardian was required before they could participate.

Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the young adult population according to census data. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±2.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all young Canadians been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Vice President, Canada, Public Affairs
+1 416 324-2002
[email protected]

Chris Chhim
Account Manager, Canada, Public Affairs
+1 514 904-4336
[email protected]

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