Most Canadians `Satisfied' (86%) With Their Job,
But Few (18%) Give Employer an `A' Grade

Toronto, ON - In a new Ipsos Reid study conducted on behalf of RBC, the data reveals that almost all Canadians (86%) are satisfied with their job. However, only one third (36%) say that they are `completely satisfied' with their job, a decline of 13 points since Canadian workers were asked in 1998 about the degree to which they are satisfied with their job. Currently, one half (50%) of workers are only `somewhat satisfied'. Fourteen percent (14%) of workers are not satisfied with their employer.

Despite being generally `satisfied' with their jobs, Canadians appear to be reluctant to give their employer a stellar grade. In fact, few (18%) Canadians would assign an `A' grade to their employer in terms of how they rate their company as a place to work. Much more common were grades of `B' (43%) and `C' (28%). Fewer than one in ten (8%) would give their employer a grade of `D', while a small proportion (3%) gave their company a failing grade as a place to work.

• Older Canadians, aged 55 and older, are most likely (88%) to be satisfied with their jobs, while middle-aged Canadians, aged 35 to 54, are close behind (87%). Younger Canadians, aged 18 to 34, are less likely (81%) to state that they are satisfied with their job.
• Residents from the Prairie Provinces are most likely to give their employer an `A' grade (25%), while residents of Ontario (18%), Atlantic Canada (18%), British Columbia (16%) and Quebec (14%) were more reserved in handing out this prestigious grade.
• Those living in Quebec (31%) and Ontario (30%) and British Columbia (27%) were more likely than those living in the Prairie Provinces (20%) and Atlantic Canada (20%) to give their employer a mediocre grade of `C'.

Some Canadian workers, though, do not appear to be as satisfied with their jobs as they might seem. In fact, only a slim majority (52%) say they have `a strong sense of loyalty' to their employer, while less than half (48%) say they trust their employer. Moreover, just three in ten (28%) indicate that they would stay at their current job if given an offer for a comparable job with more pay elsewhere.

Thinking about what kind of work is appealing to them, nine in ten (87%) believe that it is important to them to love and value the type of work that they are doing, and three quarters (74%) want to work for an employer whose values are in line with their own. Two thirds (63%) like to feel constantly challenged, and a majority (54%) likes to be given minimal instruction to figure out how to do a job on their own, while an equal proportion (54%) likes to work in a team setting.

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 177 2.2 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.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

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