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Coronavirus

    • 'My life has changed dramatically': Canadians quitting their jobs during COVID-19

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    Even before COVID-19 swept the globe, upending the lives of Canadians from across the country, Lori Bodner was already thinking about a change.

    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.

    Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

    "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. “I teach the arts so kids couldn't sing, couldn't play instruments, couldn't share instruments, so it was very challenging.â€

    Since then, Bodner has decided to take that leap. 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.

    Being 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. She hopes the skills she has learned, and will continue to learn, will help her to one-day work for Habitat for Humanity.

    Bodner now works at one school and alternates days doing electrical work, an opportunity she not only likes but which she says saved her life.

    "Not sure what my retirement plan will look like now," she said in an email to CTVNews.ca. "I may just keep working."

    Bodner'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.

    For 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. 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.

    A NEW CHAPTER

    Carolyn Young told CTVNews.ca that she quit her job as a personal support worker after 10 years in retirement homes.

    "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.

    "Also, the pay was simply not high enough for what employers were expecting from their staff. I went on unemployment and began my job search, which took six months for me to find other employment. 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."

    Emily 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.

    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.

    But when the pandemic hit, everything changed.

    "Before there was no Plexiglas, no masks, everything was just a normal day," Cutler told CTVNews.ca over the phone. "But when the Plexiglas and the masks came about, then that's when the job became really stressful."

    There would be fights with customers about mask-wearing and social distancing or products not being in stock, particularly during the "toilet paper fiasco."

    "It just started to become emotionally draining," she said.

    Early 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.

    Over time, Cutler grew more anxious and the prospect of going to work in the morning became increasingly difficult.

    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. Her stress levels have gone down considerably since.

    But 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.

    "I hope that the government can do something for all the health-care workers," she said. "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."

    SOMETHING MORE REWARDING

    Jodi Morello of Liberty Village in Toronto worked at two restaurants just before the pandemic hit.

    Although she had nine years of experience in the industry, the then-26-year-old had always wanted to do something different but says she couldn't afford to take the risk, in part due to her Ontario Student Assistance Program debt.

    After the pandemic closed down restaurants, Morello told CTVNews.ca in an email that while on the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), she enjoyed the time off, taking nature walks with her dog, organizing her apartment and trying new recipes.

    "For once I was able to think of what I could do in terms of starting a new career path and something that can pay a decent hourly wage," she said.

    In May 2020, she looked online for housekeeping jobs in long-term care homes or hospitals, saying she always like cleaning and wasn't afraid of COVID-19, but also because she wanted to do her part to help during the pandemic.

    That June, Morello was offered a job at a long-term care home in Scarborough, Ont., where she has worked since.

    Despite having no experience with unions or working with patients with dementia, she says her managers were patient and the work has proved rewarding. She says she can now financially support herself without living paycheque to paycheque, and the job has opened new doors.

    "Since COVID my life has changed dramatically," she said.

    Alison Finkelstein from Thornhill, Ont., a mother to five kids between 15 and 21 years of age, one of whom has high functioning autism, said she realized during a shift at her job at a supermarket — namely during all of the toilet and paper towel hoarding — that she had enough.

    She applied on a whim to George Brown College's medical office administration and practical nursing programs and was accepted into the former.

    She would start college in January at the age of 43 and has since found work at a hospital.

    If it wasn't for the pandemic, Finkelstein says, she probably wouldn't have thought to change careers.

    "I have been there three months, and am finishing up my third semester of college, with one more semester to go, graduation in May. I hope to move to a full-time position at the hospital after graduation," she said.

    NOT ACCORDING TO PLAN

    After being laid off in March 2020 from his job at a gear shop, Coquitlam, B.C., resident Chris Knight said he went on CERB in lieu of EI, which while nice for a while didn't quite take care of the bills.

    After about three months, he told CTVNews.ca in an email that he finally found work as a shop helper, but had to contend with a $9 hourly drop in pay.

    He says his previous job no longer exists, meaning he can't go back even if he wanted.

    "The new job still pays peanuts, but beggars can't be choosers," he said. "At least the bills get paid."

    Others, like Denise McBurney of Linden, Man., decided to retire this past spring after a 35-year career at a credit union, including as a manager, following her COVID-19 diagnosis and its persistent effects, often referred to as long COVID-19.

    "This was not according to plan but at that point I was concerned enough about my health and the rest of my life to do whatever it took to rest and decrease stress," she said in an email.

    "The insurance company I had my long-term disability with were determined to rehabilitate me and get me back to work ASAP, but I don't think they understood long COVID and I didn't need the stress of fighting with them."

    While fully vaccinated, McBurney said it's upsetting that vaccine uptake in her health region has been poor.

    "Maybe next year I'll go work somewhere part time, but for now, I'm focusing on getting better," she said.

    FRIENDS AND FAMILY

    For some, maintaining relationships with family and friends became that much more important.

    Matt Cummings of Westville, N.S., said in an email that he relocated to Terrace Bay, Ont., after leaving Northern Pulp but returned home six months later to work at a saw mill, followed by a job in garbage collection, a call centre and now with Michelin.

    "Wasn't originally my plan to leave. Was recruited to Terrace Bay but missed my family, so I returned home to random jobs waiting for the last local industry to hire me," he said.

    Roxanne Beaubien changed jobs and moved across the country twice during the pandemic.

    Writing to CTVNews.ca, Beaubien was living in London, Ont., in March 2020 and launched a new consulting company.

    That same month, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and the training Beaubien planned to provide was cancelled.

    She was offered a job in Regina the following June, under the caveat that she move to the city in order to be in the office for September.

    "But, surprise, there was no return to the office. I have moved several times over my career, but moving to a new city during COVID was one of the most challenging experiences I've ever had," Beaubien said.

    "It was impossible to develop a sense of community as I was working from home and, obviously, most activities where you could meet new people were shut down. I found myself spending most of my social time on Zoom or FaceTime with friends in Ontario and my mental health was significantly deteriorating so I ultimately decided that I had to move back to London."

    Beaubien would find a job this past June based in Guelph that allowed her to work from home in London.

    "The whole experience was a very expensive learning opportunity, as I like to frame it," she said. "I learned that London is where my people are and that, COVID or no COVID, that is more important than anything else."

    Natalie Cousineau, who lives in the Barrhaven neighbourhood of southern Ottawa, told CTVNews.ca in an email that the dental office she worked at as an administrative assistant closed when COVID-19 began.

    The daycare her children attended also closed, which meant she couldn't return to work.

    Cousineau says she eventually gave her office the OK to replace her, losing her "dream job" in the process.

    The daycare opened a month later and although she eventually found work at an office close to home, she says she had to constantly leave to pick up her kids — her son, 1.5, and daughter, 2.5, who has a social delay — missing several hours of work as a result.

    A year later, a company offered her a remote position as an intake coordinator, a moment Cousineau says was as if God had answered her prayers.

    "I am so grateful, but also very sad to have been forced to leave my original office. I loved my team and all my co-workers and the patients. But times have now changed, and I really don't know if things will ever go back to the way they were. So my current situation fits my life perfectly," she said. 

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