Future of work

This paper describes how the well-being aspects of income and wealth, knowledge and skills, work–life balance, health, and environment have been affected during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Income and wealth of low-income earners were significantly impacted, and both unemployment and financial stressors have been disproportionately felt by women, youth, indigenous people and minority groups. Many of these same people were left at a disadvantage in acquiring and maintaining knowledge and skills as the Internet has become a critical tool for working and learning at home. As kids remained at home, maintaining a work-life balance became increasingly hard for Canadians, who ranked their number one concern in June 2020 as how to balance childcare, schooling and work. This has been particularly impactful for women, who were also more likely to report worsened mental health outcomes. Visible minorities were also more likely to report poor mental health but gender-diverse persons were three times more likely to report such outcomes. Many Canadians have been coping by and benefiting from spending time outdoors and with nature.