A quarter of workers plan to switch jobs with Gen Z more likely to leave
Almost a quarter of Canada's workforce is actively eyeing the exit, according to new research with younger employees showing by far the strongest appetite to move on.
The 2026 Randstad Employer Brand Research found that 23% of Canadian workers intend to change jobs with Gen Z respondents reporting the highest mobility intentions by a wide margin, with 42% saying they were considering a job change, nearly double the overall national figure.
Pay tops the list of reasons workers give for wanting to leave.
Insufficient compensation was cited by 48% of respondents, followed by a desire for better balance between work and personal life at 40%, and limited opportunities for advancement at 34%. Randstad noted that the reasons vary by demographic: digital talent tends to leave over stalled career growth, while older employees are more likely to depart for salary reasons.
Marie-Eve Robitaille, Division President, Professional Talent Solutions at Randstad Canada, said the underlying drivers of employee satisfaction haven't shifted much, but the pace at which workers act on dissatisfaction has.
"This year's data reminds us that the foundation of the employer-employee relationship hasn't fundamentally changed: workers want to be fairly compensated and able to live their lives outside of work. What has changed is how quickly they act when they feel those needs aren't being met." Robitaille said.
Pay and work-life balance both landed as the top priority for candidates weighing an employer, each cited by 66% of respondents. But the emphasis placed on compensation shifts significantly with age. Just 54% of Gen Z respondents ranked salary as a top concern, compared with 77% of baby boomers. Women were also more likely than men to prioritize pay, at 69% versus 62%.
Beyond salary, roughly eight in ten workers placed high value on lifestyle-supporting benefits such as scheduling flexibility, paid time off, and health and wellness offerings, each drawing support from around 82% of respondents. Despite the emphasis on work-life balance as a priority, 63% of workers said their current employer already performs well in that area.
Recruitment gap
Even as employers lean further into automated hiring tools, Randstad's findings suggest human interaction still carries outsized weight throughout the job search. Sixty-eight percent of candidates said in-person contact mattered to them when exploring a role.
Personal referrals proved especially effective: while only 29% of candidates said they used them, 27% of respondents said a referral was how they landed their job, a disproportionately high success rate relative to how often the channel is used.
Social platforms also played an outsized role in job discovery. On Facebook, 62% of candidates said they found a job through the platform, even though only 53% said they were actively job-hunting there.
The 2026 REBR surveyed more than 3,500 Canadian respondents across a range of age groups, education levels, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Randstad describes the study as the largest independent employer brand survey in the world.
