"Nothing against the government, but I just hope that everyone stays safe, and everyone needs to get vaccinated so we can all go back to normal." "I hope that the government can do something for all the health-care workers," she said. Her stress levels have gone down considerably since.īut even after starting this new chapter in her life, Cutler still holds a lot of praise for essential workers, including those in grocery stores and health care, for putting their lives on the line every day. Not wanting to deal with people yelling at her anymore, Cutler says she tried working in an office part-time in February before becoming full-time in April. Over time, Cutler grew more anxious and the prospect of going to work in the morning became increasingly difficult. "It just started to become emotionally draining," she said.Įarly on in the pandemic, she says most customers were Torontonians staying at their cottages, despite officials like Ontario Premier Doug Ford telling people only to travel for essential reasons. There would be fights with customers about mask-wearing and social distancing or products not being in stock, particularly during the "toilet paper fiasco." "But when the Plexiglas and the masks came about, then that's when the job became really stressful." "Before there was no Plexiglas, no masks, everything was just a normal day," Cutler told CTVNews.ca over the phone. She saw her previous job as a second family and adored many of the regular customers, which made the decision to leave that much more difficult.īut when the pandemic hit, everything changed. I was eventually hired on permanently at Canada Post as a postal clerk and couldn't be happier! The pandemic certainly had an effect on my working life."Įmily Cutler, a resident of Huntsville, Ont., had worked 12 years as a cashier customer service clerk at a local grocery store before deciding to change jobs. I went on unemployment and began my job search, which took six months for me to find other employment. "Also, the pay was simply not high enough for what employers were expecting from their staff. "The growing demands on health-care workers was worsened when COVID hit, and created a working environment that was not conducive to good mental or physical health," the Barrie, Ont., resident detailed in an email. Some also pointed to frustrations and safety concerns over a lack of commitment by employers to adhere to public health measures, such as masking or social distancing.Ĭarolyn Young told CTVNews.ca that she quit her job as a personal support worker after 10 years in retirement homes. "I may just keep working."īodner's story is one of many shared with CTVNews.ca in recent days in response to a callout to workers asking why they chose to leave or change jobs during the pandemic.įor many, the unhappiness associated with their previous jobs - whether it be poor working conditions, disagreements with management, the added stress and burnout of a new COVID-19 environment or wanting to be closer to family and friends - had finally taken its toll. "Not sure what my retirement plan will look like now," she said in an email to CTVNews.ca. She hopes the skills she has learned, and will continue to learn, will help her to one-day work for Habitat for Humanity.īodner now works at one school and alternates days doing electrical work, an opportunity she not only likes but which she says saved her life. After seeing a post on Facebook from a cousin saying her brother-in-law was looking for apprentices, she says she wondered if he would take a chance on a 50-year-old woman, and he did.īeing a Level 1 apprentice does come with a serious pay cut, she said, but in about a week she will begin 10 weeks of training at Red River College in Winnipeg in order to become a Level 2. Since then, Bodner has decided to take that leap. “I teach the arts so kids couldn't sing, couldn't play instruments, couldn't share instruments, so it was very challenging.” "Things were changing on a dime, like whether kids would be coming to school or not coming to school, whether you could have in-person classes or if you had to be outside,” Bodner, who was working at two schools at the time, said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca. It was four years ago that the Winnipeg-based teacher considered going into electrical or plumbing, but with three kids still in high school, Bodner says she couldn't afford to make the leap. Even before COVID-19 swept the globe, upending the lives of Canadians from across the country, Lori Bodner was already thinking about a change.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |