Scott Schieman is Canada Research Chair and professor of sociology at the University of Toronto
Year over year, the majority of Canadians report high levels of satisfaction with their work. At the same time, we don’t think others are satisfied doing their jobs.
So, what can explain our skewed sense of job satisfaction? A lot of people believe a key reason is the amount we complain about work.
Since 2019, with assistance from Angus Reid Global, I’ve led a series of national surveys of more than 18,500 workers from across the socioeconomic spectrum in what I call my Canadian Quality of Work and Economic Life Study. The C-QWELS is designed to be broadly representative of the Canadian working population based on individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics like age, gender, education and region.
Among the many indicators of job qualities I’ve been tracking, I’ve asked a basic measure of job satisfaction: “On a scale that ranges from one to five, how satisfied are you with your job?” Respondents answer on a five-point scale from one being “not satisfied at all” to five being “extremely satisfied.” For ease of presentation, I’ll refer to four or five responses as high, three as moderate, and one or two as low levels of job satisfaction.
Conducting the survey every fall since 2019, I’ve found between 57 and 62 per cent of Canadian workers have reported high satisfaction. By contrast, fewer than 15 per cent have consistently reported low job satisfaction; the remainder report moderate levels.
If the fact that approximately 60 per cent of Canadians consistently report high job satisfaction surprises you, you aren’t alone. I was curious what Canadians think about the general state of job satisfaction in the working population. So, in my latest surveys conducted in September and October, adjacent to my question about personal job satisfaction, I asked: “On a scale that ranges from one to five, how satisfied do you think most Canadian workers are with their job?” To minimize bias, I randomized the order of the questions about personal job satisfaction versus most other workers’ job satisfaction.
I found that fewer than one in 10 Canadians estimated that most other workers experience high job satisfaction. Conversely, nine in 10 Canadians think most others report low-to-moderate levels. As I reported above, however, since 2019 the reality — as expressed by Canadian workers themselves — has been much different.
The scope of satisfaction misperceptions is striking. I wanted to learn what is behind it. So, in my latest surveys, I presented study participants with the statistical data points about job satisfaction and elicited their reactions.
Directly following my questions about personal and others’ job satisfaction, I asked: “Recent surveys consistently show that approximately 60 per cent of all Canadian workers report ‘four′ or ‘five′ on that five-point job satisfaction scale we just showed you. In other words, a clear majority of Canadians say they are satisfied with their job. How surprised are you by that finding?”
The vast majority (76 per cent) said they were somewhat or very surprised. I followed up to find out why. A prominent theme in their responses involved some element of complaining. Here are a few examples from those who are personally satisfied but think most others are discontent.
“People complain so much, all the time, about their jobs — to friends, to strangers, online, in person, in writing, in video,” a 64-year-old long-haul truck driver said.
“Everyone seems to complain about their jobs — even super awesome jobs,” said a 43-year-old nurse practitioner. “Everyone seems to be so dissatisfied with work culture, so I feel like an anomaly when I tell people I love my job.”
“It feels like these days there’s a lot of dissatisfaction in all facets of life, which I assumed would carry over to work, since it occupies one-third of people’s time,” said a 31-year-old communications team lead.
“I guess it’s the ‘squeaky wheel getting the grease’ situation,” speculated a 37-year-old data scientist. “If people talk about their jobs outside of work, it’s not usually positive. But I guess if you have a good work-life balance and are happy with your job, you’re not talking about it when you’re doing other things. When I hear folks talk about their jobs in casual conversation, it’s not usually positive.”
A 41-year-old business intelligence analyst simply would not believe the favourable levels of job satisfaction: “Either media is reporting too much negative news about job satisfaction, the people surveys are not representative of ‘Canadian,’ or people are lying about job satisfaction.”
“All of the time I read reddit comments how everyone hates their job — which does not correlate with 60 per cent loving it,” said a 35-year-old IT manager, before asking: “Silent majority?”
For too many people, this “everything’s terrible but I’m fine” mindset prevails. But here’s the thing: Both are wrong. Everything isn’t terrible — but we aren’t fine either, especially when we believe everything’s terrible.
“The general mood of the world seems to be trending toward dissatisfaction with everything, so I assumed Canadian workers would be in that camp,” said a 53-year-old communications manager for a non-profit. “I’m happy to be wrong.”
As it turns out, most people are wrong about job satisfaction. Acknowledging and challenging might help with the generally foul mood that seems to dominate these days.
This column is part of Globe Careers’ Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice about the world of work. Find all Leadership Lab stories at tgam.ca/leadershiplab and guidelines for how to contribute to the column here.