Easy come, easy go

As recently as springtime, Ontario was a pretty happy place to work. Now, not so much

ADP CANADA’S LATEST Happiness@Work Index has been released, and it seems that beautiful beaches, cottage country and the ocean coastlines aren’t helping Ontarians and Maritimers be less miserable at work this summer. While every province was somewhat close in ranking, the workplace wellness of Atlantic Canada and Ontario both slipped, with workers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta all shooting up the list. Both Ontario and the Maritimes notched a decidedly not-great 6.7 out of 10.

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For Ontario specifically, it seems workplace unhappiness is less related to pay these days and more about opportunity. Ontario was no more or less happy about compensation than the national average (6.3 out of 10, so some room to grow there) but was dead last in opportunity scores ― something ADP Canada is calling a “career advancement crisis” in Ontario.

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“From stalled career growth to lacklustre recognition, Ontario workers are sounding the alarm on what’s not working at work,” the report stated.

The report suggested that Ontario might be a bellwether for developing trends elsewhere in the country. Ontarians reported feeling overlooked and under-appreciated, and half of them felt like they were stuck in dead-end careers or weren’t seeing opportunities. Another theory might be that with a higher concentration of civil servant workers, talk of hiring freezes and cuts has put people on edge.

“While other provinces are seeing a summer boost in employee sentiment thanks to perks like flexible hours and time to disconnect,” ADP Canada said, “Ontario’s continued slide suggests deeper issues are at play.”

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Overall, the happiness index ADP publishes seems to have stalled after a spring that saw some promise. We had written previously about the optimistic mood that had come over Canadians, despite economic challenges and developments such as the tariff disputes. “Almost half of workers in Canada feel satisfied,” ADP wrote last month, in a release noting that “happiness blossoms through May.”

Perhaps, then, workers are coming back down to earth ― or have a little bit of the summer blues. Kieran Delamont