The impact of COVID-19 has affected everyone around the world in varying degrees. LinkedIn’s latest Workforce Confidence research sheds light on how professionals across different gender groups, functions and generations are feeling about the outlook and the stresses of the pandemic, including childcare and work responsibilities.
In LinkedIn’s most recent workforce confidence index – based on a poll of 2,150 members, conducted between July 27 and August 23 – women reported significantly lower levels of workforce confidence than men, drawing an overall score of +27, compared with +42 for men, on a scale of -100 to 100. Women reported lower scores across all three categories of job security (+42 vs +58 for men), personal finances (+17 vs +32 for men) and career outlook (+20 vs + 36 for men). This index measures how Canadian professionals feel across three areas including financial wellbeing, job security and career outlook.
The overall Workforce Confidence Index score for Canada was +35, rebounding slightly from a drop in recent weeks that took it to +31 previously. Confidence about job security overall has been climbing, reaching a new high for the index of +51.
Some key findings from the index include:
- Nearly half of men and women surveyed reported being unable to focus on work while their kids are home, and a majority struggled with providing education for their children.
- Women and men were relatively equally likely to say they were currently providing childcare full-time (18 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively).
- Those who worked in engineering roles were the most confident of all (+43 overall). Those in business development roles also reported high scores (+40 overall).
- Men were slightly more likely to say they were working outside of normal business hours to make up hours (42 per cent) or that they were working fewer hours overall in order to provide childcare (26 per cent).
- Those working in administrative, support and community and social services saw the lowest scores, at +14 and +29 (tied) respectively.
- Those in administrative positions had an outright negative career outlook at -1, but felt slightly better about their finances (+6) and much better about job security (+36).
