Highlights: 2020 Public Service Employee Survey

COVID‑19 pandemic

The 2020 survey included several new questions to get employees’ perceptions of different aspects of the workplace in relation to the COVID‑19 pandemic:

• 70% of employees indicated that senior managers in their department or agency were taking adequate steps to support their mental health during the pandemic
• 84% of employees felt that their department or agency was effectively communicating the mental health services and resources that were available to them
• 81% of employees indicated that they were satisfied with the measures their department or agency was taking to protect their physical health and safety during the pandemic

Employees were also asked about the information they received from their department or agency about the pandemic:

• 78% indicated that it was clear and easy to understand
• 76% indicated that it was provided in a timely manner
• 74% indicated that it was relevant to the work they do
• 81% indicated that the information from their department or agency was consistent with that provided by their immediate supervisor
• 92% indicated that the information was available in both official languages

Psychological health of the workplace

Overall, results related to the psychological health of the workplace improved from 2019. For example, in 2020:

• 68% of employees indicated that their workplace was psychologically healthy, up from 61% in 2019
• 81% of employees indicated that their department or agency was doing a good job of raising awareness of mental health in the workplace, up from 73% in 2019

In response to a new question in 2020, 69% of employees indicated that they would feel comfortable sharing concerns about their mental health with their immediate supervisor.

Work-related stress

Employees experienced slightly higher levels of work-related stress in 2020 than in 2019.

• 18% of employees indicated that they had high or very high levels of work-related stress, up from 17% in 2019
• 31% of employees indicated that they felt emotionally drained after their workday, up from 29% in 2019

Top 2 sources of stress at work:

• heavy workload (26%), up from 24% in 2019
• not enough employees to do the work (26%), down from 29% in 2019

The proportion of employees experiencing stress because of pay or other compensation-related issues (19%) was much lower in 2020 than in 2019 (28%).

The 2020 survey included a new question about stress and the COVID‑19 pandemic: 11% of employees indicated that the stress of the pandemic was negatively impacting their ability to carry out day‑to‑day work responsibilities.

New stress factors were added in 2020:

• risk of exposure to COVID‑19 (22%)
• balancing work and caregiving responsibilities (21%)
• feeling disconnected from colleagues (17%)
• difficulty accessing work tools or network (13%)

Performance management

The results related to performance management are better than in 2019. In 2020:

• 69% of employees indicated that they received meaningful recognition for work well done, up from 65% in 2019
• 77% of employees indicated that they received useful feedback from their immediate supervisor on their job performance, up from 74% in 2019

Career development

The 2020 results show that employees felt more supported in their career development than they did in 2019. In 2020:

• 73% felt that they got the training needed to do their job, up from 69% in 2020
• 61% felt that their organization did a good job of supporting employee career development, up from 57% in 2019

The survey asked employees about the following 4 factors relating to career progress. The employees indicated that their career progress in the public service had been adversely affected in the previous 12 months by:

• a lack of access to learning opportunities (11%), down from 2019 (12%)
• a conflict between work obligations and family or personal obligations (10%), up from 2019 (9%)
• discrimination (5%), down from 2019 (6%)
• accessibility or accommodation issues (4%), unchanged from 2019

In response to a new question in 2020, 77% of employees indicated that they felt that their immediate supervisor supported their career goals.

Empowerment

Results relating to empowerment improved from 2019. In 2020:

• 71% of employees felt encouraged to be innovative or to take initiative in their work, up from 68% in 2019
• 75% of employees believed that they had support at work to provide a high level of service, up from 72% in 2019
• 68% of employees felt they would be supported by their department or agency if they proposed a new idea, up from 63% in 2019

Work-life balance and workload

The 2020 survey included new questions about work‑life balance during the COVID‑19 pandemic, specifically about flexible work hours:

• 83% of employees indicated that their immediate supervisor supported the use of flexible work hours during the pandemic
• 39% of employees have requested flexible work hours since the beginning of the pandemic

Organizational performance

The survey asked employees whether the quality of their work suffered as a result of certain factors. Overall, results improved in 2020, for example:

• 23% of employees indicated that the quality of their work suffered because of the lack of stability in their department or agency, down from 30% in 2019
• 24% of employees indicated that the quality of their work suffered because of high staff turnover, down from 32% in 2019

Employees’ perceptions of change management also improved in 2020, with 59% indicating that they felt that change was managed well in their department or agency, compared to 50% in 2019.

Diversity and inclusion

The results for diversity and inclusion also improved since 2019. Most employees indicated that their workplace was inclusive and respectful. In 2020:

• 85% of employees felt that their organization treated them with respect, up from 82% in 2019
• 78% of employees felt that their department or agency implemented activities and practices that support a diverse workplace, down from 79% in 2019
• 77% of employees believed that their organization respected individual differences, up from 75% in 2019

Anti-racism

In 2020, new questions were added to measure employees’ perceptions of anti-racism in the workplace:

• 79% indicated that, in their work unit, they would feel free to speak about racism in the workplace without fear of reprisal
• 75% indicated that their department or agency implemented initiatives that promote anti-racism in the workplace
• 79% indicated that they felt comfortable sharing concerns about issues related to racism in the workplace with a person of authority
• 10% of employees who had experienced discrimination based on race indicated that they felt satisfied with how concerns or complaints about racism in the workplace were resolved in their department or agency

Ethical workplace

The 2020 results pertaining to ethics in the workplace were better than the 2019 results:

• 74% of employees indicated that their department or agency did a good job of promoting values and ethics in the workplace, up from 69% in 2019
• 55% of employees indicated that they felt they could initiate a formal recourse process without fear of reprisal, up from 50% in 2019

Physical environment and equipment

Most employees (83%) indicated that they had the tools, technology and equipment they needed to do their job (new question in 2020).

As in 2019, 78% of employees indicated that their physical environment was suitable for their job requirements.

Harassment

In 2020, 11% of employees indicated that they had been the victim of harassment on the job in the previous 12 months, down from 14% in 2019.

The following are more specific results for 2020 relating to harassment:

• Individuals with authority (62%) and co-workers (48%) were the most frequently cited sources of harassment
• Offensive remarks (54%), unfair treatment (52%), and being excluded or ignored (47%) were the most common types of harassment experienced
• 8% of the employees who indicated that they had been harassed filed a grievance or formal complaint; 27% took no action
• 71% of employees indicated that their department or agency worked hard to create a workplace that prevents harassment, up from 69% in 2019

Discrimination

In 2020, 7% of employees indicated that they had been the victim of discrimination on the job in the previous 12 months, down from 8% in 2019.

The following are more specific results for 2020 relating to discrimination:

• Individuals with authority (77%) and co-workers (36%) were the most frequently cited sources of discrimination
• Sex (27%), age (26%) and race (28%) were the most common types of discrimination experienced
• 6% of employees who indicated that they had been discriminated against filed a grievance or formal complaint; 48% took no action
• 73% of employees indicated that their department or agency worked hard to create a workplace that prevents discrimination, up from 72% in 2019

Duty to accommodate

In 2020, 82% of employees who indicated that measures were taken to accommodate their needs indicated that they were satisfied with those measures, up from 80% in 2019.