Do employees have upper hand in post-pandemic world? That depends

By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • The economic turmoil brought on by the coronavirus pandemic caused many people to re-evaluate their work lives but how that will ultimately impact the workplace remains to be seen, says Toronto employment lawyer Jeffrey M. Andrew.

It was recently reported that as economies across the world begin to re-emerge from repeated shutdowns forced by COVID-19, more workers are leaving their jobs and may hold the upper hand in employment negotiations.

“The power swings back and forth based on market conditions and supply and demand from employer to employee. And right now it’s skewed towards the employee,” Kevin Stoddart, co-owner of the Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette executive recruiting firm, told yahoo!finance.

However, while there is evidence of a shift in the employment landscape, it is unclear what impact it may have, says Andrew, a partner with Cavalluzzo LLP.

‘People are retiring early or seeking new paths’

“The fallout from the pandemic is causing people to re-evaluate their work from a safety, enjoyment and professional point of view. People are retiring early or seeking new paths and that’s happening more in some industries but probably not all,” he tells LegalMattersCanada.ca. “I have heard and noticed some environments where it looks like employees are suddenly having more influence than they once did. But there are many people who do not have that luxury of choice. There are more people for whom a job is a job and they are more concerned about maintaining what they’ve got rather than choosing something different.”

However, any change in employment trends can be noticeable, says Andrew.

“Only a small percentage of people have to make an alternative choice for it to have an impact, particularly if it is more profound in select professions. Even five per cent would have a significant impact,” he says. “It is not surprising that in some cases workers are re-evaluating their choice of profession, particularly in hard-hit industries or ones that have been considerably stress-filled for the past 18 months.

“Others may have decided to retire early, even if it had been their intention to work longer,” Andrew adds.

The stress caused by the constant change from in-person to online learning saw teachers consider retirement as soon as they were eligible, according to CBC.

“Teachers who are approaching retirement can’t wait to get there — teachers who usually if they are eligible to retire in the middle of the year would teach to the end of the year, finish off that school year and then retire. We’re seeing teachers who are eligible mid-year, they retire mid-year,” teacher David Del Duca told CBC. “I really think that it’s obvious in those examples that teachers are really struggling with this and are taking advantage of the opportunity to get out through retirement.”

‘Pandemic was particularly hard on teachers’

Andrew says “the pandemic was particularly hard on teachers” and he knows of some who have decided to leave the profession earlier than planned.

He says many workers are reconsidering their professions after living through the stress of the pandemic.

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Andrew says there is no question the restaurant industry suffered immensely through the pandemic. But while restrictions eased and doors reopened, restaurant owners are experiencing a new problem caused by staffing shortages, he says.’

“Wait staff just checked out, found other gigs, or just decided they didn’t want to come back because the work was too difficult or because they just didn’t feel comfortable with the potential exposures to so many different people,” says Andrew. “I have been to restaurants where it was fairly obvious that they were struggling to bring in skilled staff and I have heard it is not uncommon in the industry.”

Health care is another particularly hard-hit industry, he says.

“Whether it’s long-term care or hospitals, people have been under significant stress and pressure for a long time,” Andrew says. “I know of people who have said, “Enough. I am retiring.”

May have the leverage to demand more pay

Using restaurants as an example, he says workers in industries seeing a steady stream of resignations or retirements would have leverage to demand more pay, benefits and better hours or working conditions.

“It is a fraught time for restaurants when they’re just trying to hang on,” says Andrew. “They need staff to survive and if there is a shortage, it is obvious that they’re going to have to pay more to attract skilled workers. Of course, for the consumer that also means that the price of dining out will go up.”

He says a worker’s ability to demand a better deal all comes down to supply and demand. The power can shift depending on the circumstances.

“Employers often have the upper hand and I don’t mean that in a negative sense. But they are the ones that invest in the business and provide the opportunities for employment,” says Andrew. “The ability of a worker to influence their wages is always somewhat limited and varies by the industry. One has to be careful about making predictions because these things are cyclical.”

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