Two-in-five residents who are employed say their work has put a strain on their relationships with family and friends.
Vancouver, BC [April 30, 2019] – A majority of British Columbians who work part time or full time acknowledge putting their career ahead of their health, leisure, family and spirituality, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative provincial sample, 53% of employed British Columbians say work is “definitely” (23%) or “probably” (30%) taking precedence over lifestyle.
One third of employed British Columbians (33%) claim to have a perfect balance between work and lifestyle, while 12% say their lifestyle is taking precedence over work.
Almost half of employed British Columbians (47%) acknowledge having to stay late after work over the course of the past six months, while about three-in-ten missed a “lifestyle” engagement (such as a family gathering or leisure activity) because of work (29%) or had to reply to a work-related e-mail while they were with family or friends (28%).
One-in-four employed British Columbians (25%) had to take a work-related call on the cell phone while they were with family or friends, while similar proportions had to work from home on a weekend (24%) or had to work from home at night (21%).
“There is a staggering age gap when it comes to work getting in the way of the lifestyle of British Columbians,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “While 44% of those aged 55 and over say they did not experience any off-work interruptions, the proportion drops to 26% for those aged 35-to-54 and just 15% for those aged 18-to-34.”
More than two-in-five employed British Columbians (42%) say their work has put a strain on their relationships with family and friends, a proportion that reaches 48% among those aged 18-to-34 and 61% among those who live in Northern BC.
One-in-five employed British Columbians (19%) say it is easier for them to achieve a work-life balance than it was for their parents, while 41% believe that this undertaking is now harder.
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from April 4 to April 7, 2019, among 646 adults in British Columbia who are employed full time or part time. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in British Columbia. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.9 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our full data set here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca