Employees — and bosses — will have to work more hours over the next three months, say more than half of Quebec businesses. This is revealed by the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ), which analyzed Quebec data from the Canadian Survey on the Situation of Business for the second quarter of 2022. The message is clear: “The an increase in the number of hours worked by management or by current staff will be inevitable for more than half of the companies. »
Difficulties in recruiting, or even retaining existing employees, are a big part of this. “Over the next three months, more than half of companies facing labor barriers anticipate that management (58%) or current staff (51.3%) will need to increase their hours worked,” warns the ISQ.
The increase in the number of working hours by current staff is anticipated for 64.9% of companies in the arts, entertainment and leisure sector; for 63.5% of companies in real estate services and rental; for 62.9% of companies in accommodation and catering; and for 60.6% of companies in construction.
And the increase in the number of hours of work by management is expected in the sectors of agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, in professional, scientific and technical services, as well as in construction.
Similarly, more than half of companies (55.8%) expect inflation to become a more important issue in discussions with their employees regarding salary increases over the next coming year. This is particularly the case in the food and accommodation (77.8%), retail (70.3%) and manufacturing (63.7%) sectors. Already, many union representatives have reported that their members are insisting on wage increases that take more account of inflation, so as not to lose purchasing power.
Still, overall, Quebec businesses are more optimistic in the second quarter of 2022 than in the previous quarter.
But for the next three months, several obstacles still stand before them, including: the shortage of labour, the increase in the cost of inputs, the recruitment of qualified employees, the costs related to transport, as well as the retention of qualified employees. As for the obstacles related to the workforce, in the next three months, in addition to the increase in the number of working hours, Quebec companies also expect a slowdown in the growth of the business, hiring less qualified candidates and delays in fulfilling customer orders.