TORONTO, Sept. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian companies are concerned about the impact social media trends like “Lazy Girl Jobs” and “Bare Minimum Mondays” are having on everything from employees’ career development to their mental health, according to a recent Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey.
Overall, both employers and employees give high marks for workplace productivity. More than 9 in 10 hiring managers (92%) feel the employees at their company are productive, with 40% reporting employees are very productive. Similarly, almost all job seekers (95%) say they are productive at work, with half (52%) reporting they are very productive.
However, both job seekers and hiring managers are pointing to recent social media trends as threatening workplace productivity – impacting everything from employees’ performance to their career development.
The top ways social media trends are affecting job seekers in the workplace include significant impacts on mental health (42%), motivation to develop career skills (41%), employee commitment to their job (39%) and productivity (35%).
Increasing Productivity
To bolster employee engagement, nearly 9 in 10 companies (88%) say they are taking steps to further improve productivity and employee morale, which job seekers welcome.
Such steps include encouraging small breaks throughout the workday (46%), providing mental health resources (42%), offering wellness training and workshops (34%), allowing longer lunch breaks (26%), reducing noise and workplace distractions (26%) and incorporating AI to do low-value tasks or help employees organize tasks and projects (24%).
This aligns with what job seekers say companies can do to help them be more productive. Indeed, an even higher proportion of job seekers than employers say encouraging small breaks (59%), offering mental health resources (58%) and offering wellness and training workshops (51%) would be helpful.
Interestingly, almost 2 in 5 job seekers (18%) say companies should encourage mid-day naps to improve employee productivity, but only 7% of companies offer such. Millennial job seekers are much more likely than their Boomer colleagues to recommend napping during the workday (24% compared to 16%).
“High-performing companies usually employ top talent, and one of the biggest risks in this bustling economy is burnout,” said Bill Stoller, Express Employment International CEO. “By offering employees tools and strategies to take care of themselves, companies can not only recruit the best of the best, but retain them, as well.”
Survey Methodology
The Job Insights survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between May 16 – June 3, 2024, among 504 Canadian hiring decision-makers between May 16 – June 3, 2024.
The Job Seeker Report was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between May 28 – June 10, 2024, among 505 adults ages 18 and older.
For full survey methodologies, please contact Ana Curic at Ana@MapleLeafStrategies.com.
If you would like to arrange for an interview to discuss this topic, please contact Ana Curic at
(613) 858-2622 or email Ana@MapleLeafStrategies.com.
About Bill Stoller
William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment International. Founded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the international staffing franchisor supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and related brands. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
About Express Employment Professionals
At Express Employment Professionals, we’re in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, employing 492,000 people globally in 2023 and more than 11 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com/CA.
