Almost half (47%) of Canadian professionals are unhappy in their current job, finds a survey by recruitment firm Hays Canada.

Further, 86% of employees from multiple regions and industries believe their fit with a company and its people is essential to contentment and success. In fact, a lack of workplace fit is the number one reason Canadians leave or lose a job. According to employers, hiring someone who wasn’t a match for their team or company culture had a harmful impact on team morale, productivity, and 56% of these hires ended in the person’s dismissal.

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Here are some additional findings.

  • 49% of employers admit to interviewing people they felt were not a fit with their team or culture, but hired them anyway; 94% say that ignoring their initial impressions cost their company anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 and, in a few instances, more than $100,000;
  • 30% of professionals are confident they are well-matched with their current working team, and a similar number say they simply don’t know;
  • Quebec has the highest percentage (69%) of people who are somewhat to very happy with their current position;
  • Which specialism is Canada’s happiest? Procurement — 73% say they are somewhat to very happy in their procurement role; and
  • gen Y have the highest levels of happiness at work — 26% are very happy, which is in contrast to boomers — 17% are very happy.

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Hays notes that rethinking traditional recruitment processes may reverse some of the trends that lead to occupational dissatisfaction. For example, at the time of hire, both employers and employees felt that work ethic was the most important characteristic to evaluate, while social interaction fell to the bottom of the list. However, in instances when someone quits or is fired, both groups note that social incompatibility was the main cause.