Mental and psychological health, work-life balance, and job satisfaction in federally regulated workplaces: Results from the 2022 Survey of Employees under Federal Jurisdiction

Introduction

This report examines the results of the 2022 Survey of Employees under Federal Jurisdiction (SEFJ) on mental and psychological health, work-related stress factors, work-life balance, and job satisfaction. The survey targeted employees working for employers covered by Part III of the Canada Labour Code except certain miscellaneous activities and First Nation band councils and related activities (for more information, see "Data source, methods and notes to the reader"). In the rest of the document, the target universe of the survey is referred to as the "federal jurisdiction". Tables of statistics from the survey are also available on the Open Government Portal.

Women employees in the federal jurisdiction more likely to have taken leave for mental health reasons

Leaves can help support employees through difficult life events such injury or illness. Among employees under federal jurisdiction, 9.5% indicated that they had taken a leave for mental health reasons.^{Footnote 1} Telecommunications and broadcasting and rail transportation were the sectors with highest rates of mental health leave usage, at 16.6% and 12.5%, respectively.

Across all sectors in the federal jurisdiction, the proportion of women employees who had taken leave for mental health reasons (11.8%) was higher than men (8.2%). Women in rail transportation were close to 3 times (28.2%^{Footnote 2}) as likely as men (10.0%) to have taken leave such a leave, while women in maritime transportation (11.1%) and courier services and pipelines (14.2%) were about twice as likely (Figure 1). By contrast, women working in banks had similar rates (10.0%) of mental health leave usage to those of men (10.1%).

Figure 1: text version

Sector	Men and Women	Men	Women
All sectors	9.5%	8.2%	11.8%
Air transportation	8.8%	8.0%	10.6%
Rail transportation	12.5%	10.0%	28.2%
Road transportation	5.4%	4.8%	7.9%
Maritime transportation	6.5%	5.0%	11.1%
Courier and pipelines	8.8%	7.2%	14.2%
Banks	10.1%	10.1%	10.0%
Feed, flour, seed and grain	6.8%	6.5%	7.6%
Telecommunications and broadcasting	16.6%	14.5%	19.8%

Employees in banks and telecommunications and broadcasting were the most likely to believe they would have been supported to take leave for mental health reasons

Employees that feel supported by their employer to take leave may feel less obligated to work when feeling unwell. Most employees working in federally regulated workplaces believed they would have been “supported” or “very supported” to take leave for mental health reasons.^{Footnote 3} Overall, 65.6% of employees held this belief, while 11.8% felt they would have been “neither supported nor unsupported”, 11.0% thought they would have been “unsupported” or “very unsupported”, and 11.5% answered “not applicable”. The proportion of employees who felt they would have been “supported” or “very supported” was highest in banks (75.8%) and in telecommunications and broadcasting (72.8%), while it was lowest in rail transportation (50.7%) and in courier services and pipelines (54.8%).

Across all sectors under federal jurisdiction, women (69.7%) were slightly more likely than men (63.4%) to believe they would have been “supported” or “very supported” to take mental health leave (Figure 2). At the same time, there were several sectors where the share of men believing they would have been supported was similar to that of women, including feed, flour, seed and grain, and road transportation.

Figure 2: text version

Sector	Men and Women	Men	Women
All sectors	65.6%	63.4%	69.7%
Air transportation	57.6%	55.4%	62.9%
Rail transportation	50.7%	49.4%	58.3%
Road transportation	56.8%	56.7%	57.4%
Maritime transportation	65.1%	65.6%	63.6%
Courier and pipelines	54.8%	53.2%	60.1%
Banks	75.8%	76.2%	75.5%
Feed, flour, seed and grain	65.0%	64.9%	65.4%
Telecommunications and broadcasting	72.8%	73.1%	72.5%

Workload the most frequent work-related factor causing stress

Employees may experience workplace stress for several reasons including heavy workloads, uneasy relationships with managers or coworkers, or difficulty balancing work and personal life. Within the federal jurisdiction, the most common source of workplace stress in a typical week was workload, with 28.5% of employees indicating that they were “always” or “often” stressed by their volume of work (Figure 3).^{Footnote 4} Some 17.9% of respondents reported wages or salary as a frequent source of stress, 17.6% stated hours of work, while about 12.5% identified the temporary status of the job. Risk of job loss was mentioned as a source of stress by 11.4% of employees.

Workload was the most cited source of stress in all sectors but rail transportation, with employees in banking citing it the most often (34.3% indicated it was a source of stress “always” or “often”). At the same time, air transportation had the highest share of workers declaring their wages or salaries as a frequent source of stress (25.8%). Rail transportation was the sector with the highest share of workers (25.9%) reporting their hours of work as a frequent source of stress. Meanwhile, employees in rail transportation were also the most likely to mention the temporary job status (28.6%^{Footnote 5}) and risk of job loss (22.5%^{Footnote 6}) as frequent sources of stress.^{Footnote 7}

• Note 1: As separate responses for each factor were provided, the number of valid responses on which the proportions are based may differ between factors.
• Note 2: Employees who indicated that "Permanent employee" best describes their employment status are excluded from the "Temporary status of the job" estimates.

Figure 3: text version

Work-related factor causing stress	Share of employees
Wages and salary	17.9%
Benefits	6.6%
Hours of work	17.6%
Workload	28.5%
Relationships with managers	12.5%
Relationships with other employees	7.7%
Relationships with clients or customers	9.3%
Risk of job loss	11.4%
Temporary status of the job	12.4%
Other stressor	9.7%

Figure 4 examines the results by gender. It reveals that women were as likely as men to be “always” or “often” stressed by their workload (28.4% of women versus 28.6% of men), their relationship with managers (12.9% of women versus 12.3% of men), and by the risk of job loss (11.2% of women versus 11.5% of men). However, the share of men that experienced frequent stress because of benefits (7.4%) and hours of work (18.2%) was higher than the share of women (5.0% for benefits and 16.6% for hours of work). Inversely, there was a higher proportion of women than of men that experienced frequent stress because of their relationship with clients or customers (10.9% of women and 8.4% of men).

• Note 1: As separate responses for each factor were provided, the number of valid responses on which the proportions are based may differ between factors.
• Note 2: Employees who indicated that "Permanent employee" best describes their employment status are excluded from the "Temporary status of the job" estimates.

Figure 4: text version

Work-related factor causing stress	Men and Women	Men	Women
Wages and salary	17.9%	17.5%	18.7%
Benefits	6.5%	7.4%	5.0%
Hours of work	17.6%	18.2%	16.6%
Workload	28.5%	28.6%	28.4%
Relationships with other employees	7.7%	8.0%	7.1%
Relationships with managers	12.5%	12.3%	12.9%
Relationships with clients or customers	9.3%	8.4%	10.9%
Risk of job loss	11.4%	11.5%	11.2%
Temporary status of the job	12.5%	12.9%	11.0%
Other stressor	9.7%	9.6%	9.9%

Most employees agree or somewhat agree that their work environment is psychologically healthy

Most employees working in federally regulated workplaces reported that their work environment was psychologically healthy.^{Footnote 8} In fact, 62.6% of employees indicated that they “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” that this was the case (Figure 5). The others responded, “neither agree nor disagree” (19.0%), “somewhat disagree” (9.8%), or “strongly disagree” (6.2%). At the same time, 1.7% of employees indicated that they “don’t know” and 0.8% selected “not applicable”.

Employees in rail transportation (44.0%) and air transportation (50.6%) were the least likely to “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” that their work environment was psychologically healthy. Meanwhile, men (61.6%) working in the federal jurisdiction were almost as likely as women (64.1%) to report working in a psychologically healthy work environment.

Figure 5: text version

Sector	Men and Women	Men	Women
All sectors	62.6%	61.6%	64.1%
Air transportation	50.6%	51.7%	48.2%
Rail transportation	44.0%	44.4%	41.9%
Road transportation	66.2%	65.8%	67.5%
Maritime transportation	60.9%	60.3%	62.7%
Courier and pipelines	57.4%	57.5%	57.1%
Banks	67.4%	65.6%	69.0%
Feed, flour, seed and grain	68.3%	67.1%	71.9%
Telecommunications and broadcasting	62.4%	63.6%	60.7%

Across the federal jurisdiction, 19.9% of employees indicated that they felt tense, depressed, worried, gloomy, uneasy, or miserable “often” or “always” in a typical week (Table 1).^{Footnote 9} 33.7% of employees declared having such feelings “sometimes”, while 46.5% responded “rarely” or “never”. Employees in rail transportation (28.2%) and in telecommunications and broadcasting (24.1%) were the most likely to declare experiencing such feelings frequently. At the same time, employees in road transportation (54.7%), in maritime transportation (52.1%), and in feed, flour, seed and grain (52.0%) were the most likely to “rarely” or “never” experience such feelings.^{Footnote 10}

Employees were also asked how often they felt satisfied, happy, fulfilled, empowered, or engaged during a typical week (Table 2).^{Footnote 11} Overall, 58.6% indicated experiencing such feelings “always” or “often”, while 29.8% responded “sometimes” and 11.6% “rarely” or “never”. Employees working in banks (63.7%) and in maritime transportation (62.7%) were the most likely to report having these feelings frequently. On the other hand, employees working in rail transportation (21.0%) were the most likely to “rarely” or “never” have these feelings.

Employees in rail transportation least likely to have good work-life balance

Employees were asked about the degree to which they felt that their employer offered them appropriate work-life balance. Most employees (61.8%) felt that the extent to which their employer offered them appropriate work-life balance was “good” or “very good”, including 64.8% of women and 60.3% of men (Figure 6).^{Footnote 12} Among federal jurisdiction sectors, employees in rail transportation (42.3%) were the least likely to report that their work-life balance was “good” or “very good”. This was true of both men (42.2%) and women (43.0%). On the other hand, employees in banks (68.2%) and in feed, flour, seed and grain (68.0%) were the most likely to indicate having a good work-life balance.

In the survey, employees were offered different options through which their work-life balance could be improved.^{Footnote 13} They had the option of selecting more than one option. Overall, working fewer or shorter hours per week was the most frequently selected option (25.7% of employees), followed by more flexible scheduling (20.2%), easier and more access to leaves or vacation (15.7%), and some or more access to remote work or telework (14.8%).

Across sectors under federal jurisdiction, more flexible scheduling was the most frequently cited means of improving work-life balance among employees in air transportation (26.7%), maritime transportation (17.7%), and courier services and pipelines (19.0%). Easier and more access to leaves or vacation was the most frequently selected option among employees in rail transportation (30.3%). Working fewer or shorter hours per week was the most popular option among employees in the other 4 federally regulated sectors.

Figure 6: text version

Sector	Men and Women	Men	Women
All sectors	61.8%	60.3%	64.8%
Air transportation	56.2%	57.4%	53.6%
Rail transportation	42.3%	42.2%	43.0%
Road transportation	59.2%	58.4%	62.7%
Maritime transportation	63.0%	63.0%	63.2%
Courier and pipelines	54.2%	51.5%	63.5%
Banks	68.2%	66.0%	70.0%
Feed, flour, seed and grain	68.0%	65.3%	75.9%
Telecommunications and broadcasting	64.3%	65.5%	62.7%

Figure 7, which presents the results by gender, reveals that, overall, women (20.5%) were almost twice as likely as men (11.7%) to indicate that their work-life balance could be improved through some or more access to remote work or telework. On the other hand, women (10.3%) were almost as likely as men (9.6%) to indicate that their work-life balance could be improved through less take-home work or no contact from the employer outside of work, easier and more access to leave and vacations (15.2% for women versus 15.9% for men), more flexible scheduling (21.2% versus 19.6%) and less travel (7.0% versus 6.5%).

• Note 1: Employees were able to give multiple valid responses. Proportions therefore represent the percentage of Yes responses for a given question independent of other questions, and do not sum to 100%.
• Note 2: About 44.4% of men and 40.7% of women responded, “not applicable”.

Figure 7: text version

Ways work-life balance could be improved	Men and Women	Men	Women
More notice when asked to work extra hours	9.4%	10.8%	7.0%
Less take-home work or no contact from employer outside of work	9.9%	9.6%	10.3%
Easier and more access to leave and vacations	15.7%	15.9%	15.2%
Some or more access to remote work or telework	14.8%	11.7%	20.5%
More flexible scheduling	20.2%	19.6%	21.2%
Work fewer or shorter hours per week	25.7%	24.3%	28.0%
Less travel	6.7%	6.5%	7.0%

About 25% of employees send or answer work-related emails, calls or texts outside of working hours every day

Across all sectors under federal jurisdiction, 25.3% of employees reported sending or answering work-related emails, calls or texts outside of working hours every day (Table 3).^{Footnote 14} Another 25.0% indicated doing so once or twice a week. The remaining employees selected “once or twice a month” (14.5%), “never” (24.1%), or “not applicable” (11.1%). The sectors where employees were the most likely to send or answer work-related communications outside of working hours every day were banks (30.8%) and telecommunications and broadcasting (28.4%).

Among employees that indicated sending or responding to work-related communications outside of working hours every day, 60.0% said that this was expected by their employer, 23.2% indicated that it was not expected, while 16.8% declared not knowing (Figure 8).^{Footnote 15} At the same time, 39.1% of employees who sent or answered work-related communications outside of working hours once or twice a week indicated that this was expected by their employer. Another 39.6% indicated that it was not expected, while 21.3% declared that they didn’t know.

• Note: Estimates are limited to employees who reported sending or answering work-related emails, calls or texts outside working hours every day, once or twice a week or once or twice a month.

Figure 8: text version

Frequency of sending or answering work-related communications outside working hours / Expectation of employers	Yes	No	Don't know
Every day	60.0%	23.2%	16.8%
Once or twice a week	39.1%	39.6%	21.3%
Once or twice a month	32.8%	48.3%	18.8%

• Note: The first cell contains the names for both rows and columns, separated by a slash.

Majority of women and men enjoy their job

Across the federal jurisdiction, 77.8% of employees “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” that they enjoy their job with percentages varying from 70.7% of employees in courier services and pipelines to 81.4% in maritime transportation (Figure 9).^{Footnote 16} Another 13.6% of employees indicated that they “neither agree nor disagree”, while 8.5% declared that they “somewhat disagree” or “strongly disagree”. Turning to the results by gender, 81.9% of women indicated that they “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” that overall, they enjoy their job, compared to 75.6% of men.

Figure 9: text version

Sector	Men and Women	Men	Women
All sectors	77.8%	75.6%	81.9%
Air transportation	76.0%	73.7%	81.1%
Rail transportation	74.2%	73.7%	77.4%
Road transportation	75.5%	74.1%	81.3%
Maritime transportation	81.4%	80.9%	83.1%
Courier and pipelines	70.7%	68.5%	78.6%
Banks	81.0%	78.6%	83.2%
Feed, flour, seed and grain	81.0%	79.9%	84.0%
Telecommunications and broadcasting	79.8%	79.7%	80.1%

Employees that responded “somewhat disagree” or “strongly disagree” were presented with a list of reasons for which they may not enjoy their job (Figure 10). The 3 most prevalent reasons selected by employees were underpaid (43.9%), relationship with management (39.4%) and heavy workload (34.5%).^{Footnote 17}

• Note 1: Estimates are limited to employees who reported that they “somewhat disagree” or “strongly disagree” that overall, they enjoy their job.
• Note 2: Employees were able to give multiple valid responses. Proportions therefore represent the percentage of Yes responses for a given question independent of other questions, and do not sum to 100%.

Figure 10: text version

Reasons for not enjoying one's job	Share of employees who selected the reason
Underpaid	43.9%
Relationship with management	39.4%
Heavy workload	34.5%
Few opportunities to grow	27.1%
Overall corporate culture	26.4%
Little recognition by management	24.8%
Unable to achieve work-life balance	20.5%
Bored and unchallenged by the work itself	16.5%
Lack of resources to do the job	14.8%
Health and safety issues at the workplace	10.5%
Relationship with coworkers	10.1%
Lacking the right tools to do the job	7.1%
Other	7.9%

Data source, methods, and notes to the reader