Canadians a bit less happy, but satisfied with their jobs

Richard Schick with son Noah and daughter Seacret smile prior to the start of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 Round of 16 match between Switzerland and Canada June, 21, 2015, at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A recent survey showed Canadians to be less happy although still satisfied with their jobs. AFP FILE

OTTAWA, Canada — Canadians are less likely to find a good balance between work and family, but are mostly satisfied with their jobs, according to a survey released Tuesday.

In the eight years to 2016, the number of Canadians who reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their work-life balance fell by 10 percentage points to 68 percent, according to the Statistics Canada study.

This downward trend, said the government statistical agency, “may have implications for the well-being of Canadians.”

Women were slightly less likely than men to be satisfied with their work-life balance — 66 percent versus 70 percent, respectively.

Just over one in five Canadians said they “always or often had difficulties fulfilling family responsibilities because of the amount of time they spent on their job.”

Happy or not with their work-life balance, however, Canadians are overwhelmingly satisfied (84 percent) with their jobs.

For others, a bad “work environment” or “too low” pay were the two top reasons cited for having soured their work experience.

Another part of the survey that looked at new technologies found that most Canadians viewed being virtually connected as positive and that technology improved life. /cbb