Findings of COVID-19 Defence Team Survey now available

December 8, 2020 – Defence Stories

The Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) would like to thank the 27,000 Defence Team members who answered the call to action and participated in the COVID-19 Defence Team Survey. Your feedback and, especially, your candid comments  have already begun to help inform organizational approaches to supporting personnel and their families as we navigate the COVID-19 crisis and as the organization prepares for the future.

The survey was designed to understand the experiences and requirements of Defence Team members stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The results highlight some of the challenges that Defence Team members have faced, many of which are due to the substantial changes to work arrangements, concern about family members, and the added pressures of having to navigate daycare and school closures. Despite these challenges, respondents expressed favourable views regarding the support they have received from their immediate supervisors and from DND/CAF. We will continue to monitor the needs of all personnel and provide the support required.

Since the start of the pandemic, DND/CAF have put into place programs and resources for members of the Defence Team in order to support their physical health and mental wellbeing. In addition to the already existing resources and support offered through the Canadian Forces Member Assistance Program and the Employee Assistance Program, we have taken further action. We have initiated several COVID-specific programs and created some helpful resources (see list below). Rest assured that we will continue to support our members as this situation evolves. Your responses to the survey are helping inform organizational decisions that will be critical to our continued operations, and our successful reintegration.

Furthermore, the Defence Workplace Well-being Survey (DWWS) departmental results are available on the DWWS webpage (Accessible only on the National Defence network) for your reference. The first-ever DWWS was completed by over 13,000 Defence Team members in the spring and summer of 2018, and provides useful insight into the well-being of the Defence Team prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Resources

Numerous CANFORGENs were also issued to provide clarity on several topics affecting Canadian Armed Forces members (available internally only):

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