Employers given C grade by workers in annual report

When it comes to employee grades of their employers, once again it’s a “C,” according to a new report.

In grading their employer on their capacity to build trust with external stakeholders, 68 per cent give them a C, according to Canadian public relations agency firm Proof Strategies.

But this feeling of trust differs among age groups. Specifically, millennials (36 per cent) and generation Z (37 per cent) are less likely to trust their senior leaders compared with baby boomers (48 per cent) and generation X (46 per cent).

What builds trust?

As to what makes an employer most trustworthy, a focus on employee safety and wellbeing (68 per cent) comes out on top.

Also important?

• having a leader that communicates openly (64 per cent)
• creating employment opportunities (63 per cent)
• advocating for positive social change (58)
• having a clearly stated social or corporate purpose (54 per cent)
• commitment to diversity and inclusion (54 per cent)
• Indigenous reconciliation (48 per cent)
• speaking out on human rights issues (54 per cent)

One in five (20 per cent) of Canadian workers believe that trust between employees and their employer has decreased compared to before the pandemic, and this is affecting their mental health, according to a separate report.

The majority (53 per cent) of workers also say business leaders should speak out and regularly take positions when it comes to climate change, racism and social equity, finds Proof Strategies’ survey of more than 1,500 Canadian employees.

This sentiment is highest among generation Z workers (61 per cent), but more than half of millennials and generation X workers (both 55 per cent) and just less than half (48 per cent) of baby boomers agree.

While everyone agrees that trust is very important, very few organizations have a deliberate plan to build trust, according to Bruce MacLellan, CEO of Proof Strategies, a public relations agency, in a previous interview with Canadian HR Reporter.

“Economic uncertainty is a driver of mistrust. When people don’t feel secure in their job or in their status of living, they start to lose trust. In terms of large corporations, I think, unfortunately, there’s been a trend towards short-term performance, when in fact what Canadians are looking for is long-term relationships.”