Work Culture in Canada: Causes of Inequality and Insecurity

This paper discusses the causes of workplace inequality and insecurity in Canada and provides possible solutions and recommendations for reducing the problem. It highlights the issues faced by women, radicalized groups, people with disabilities, and Aboriginals. The paper also suggests economic neoliberalism, anti-discrimination policies, and modernized legislations as possible solutions.

Running head :WORK CULTURE IN CANADA
WORK CULTURE IN CANADA
Name of the Student :
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Author Note :

1WORK CULTURE IN CANADA
Work place culture is an important aspect when it comes to working in any organization.
It tells us about the culture, character and ethics of the organization. The work culture of a
company enables us to understand the values, morals, attitudes and behaviors of the employees
as well as the employers (Arnold & Bongiovi,2013). Thus, a workplace should radiate positive
energy and impart healthy working practices. The employees also feel happy and satisfied while
working in a positive environment. Workplace culture is important as it attracts people. It helps
in retaining the employees and increasing their performance. In a healthy work environment,
nobody feels demotivated or lethargic. Thus, workers perform well and are more successful.
However, in the recent years it is seen that the workplace culture of Canada has degraded
resulting in insecurity and inequality. The paper aims at showing the various causes of workplace
inequality and insecurity affect social groups (Aydemir, Chen & Corak,2013). The purpose of
this paper is to provide possible solutions and recommendations for reducing the above-
mentioned problem.
Insecurity is a feeling that storms out of uncertainty, instability and better working
conditions. Whereas inequality refers to a situation, where there is a lack of opportunity,
disparity in income, lack of facilities like housing, education, vocational training and quality of
living. Women have always been a victim of patriarchy since time immemorial. It is sad that
even today women have to face discrimination in the workplace. Women have a low income
than men (Lightman & Gingrich,2013). They still do not receive formal education in many
countries and are married off early. Radicalized groups also experience average income, health
issues and higher unemployment rates. They are less in number when it comes to white-collar
jobs. Hence, they also feel insecure and unstable. People who suffer from various disabilities are

2WORK CULTURE IN CANADA
also secluded from society at large. They face many fluctuations in the job market. The
Aboriginals also find it difficult to look for jobs in Cananda. There have been major changes due
to loss of jobs, no pension given to the old citizens and compulsory retirement.
Primary markets consists of jobs that are good and reputed joints whereas secondary
markets consists of jobs that are not good. More and more jobs are becoming less secure in
Canada’s labor market (Froese-Germain,2013). These jobs have no benefits, security or
vacations. The ones who belong to the list of insecure employment category consists of part5-
time workers, temporary employers and contractual laborers. Only a very less percent of the
Canadian labor market has secure jobs which is not available to everyone. Most of the companies
in Canada have been following the age old tradition of keeping wages low (Benach et al.,2014).
Due to the low job market the workers have a tendency of changing jobs. This leads to neither
security nor benefits. These precarious workers fail to get an health insurance or other financial
benefits. Our financial status is linked with our social status. Hence, when the workers earn low
wages it becomes impossible for them to reach a certain stature in the society. They are
automatically deprived of formal schooling, higher studies, proper meals, medical facilities and
the gap among the rich and the poor widens (Kelly,2014). They feel socially segregated
(Ehrenreich,2006). However, the Ontario government has responded to the growing problem and
said it will take actions as quick as possible. The Canadian government has too many people
living on the margins. The incomes of majority of the people have decreased or remained
stagnant. Unfortunately, Toronto is now divided into three parts where one part of the city is
wealthy, another is engulfed in poverty and the other part is where the middle class people live.
This has lead to a huge gap between the masses. This has also resulted to increase in crimes like
theft and burglary (Grubel, 2015).. The poor people feel that they are not accepted by the society.

3WORK CULTURE IN CANADA
In order to deal with the severe crisis there must be collaboration among the federal government,
the territories, the provinces, local bodies and communities. The people first should be made to
feel included in the society. This way the government can give them assurance and mental
security. We need to make them understand that they are a part of our society too.
There are various reasons why the gap is widening between the rich and the poor. One of
the major reasons is education. As not many have access to go to a private school they are devoid
of the skills and knowledge required to enroll for higher studies. Hence, they also do not acquire
any degree or training. This results in a huge disparity between the skilled labors and the
unskilled labors. Another major issue is technological knowledge. The people who belong to the
middle class or the lower middle class group often do not have profound idea about the
technological advancement (Ehrenreich,1987). Hence, in a way their production is also very low.
They lag behind in the rat race. In a world full of feminists and female activists there still exists
the unequal treatment of men and women. The gender income gap is prevalent in many
countries. In countries like Canada and the United States there is still a huge gap between the
income of a man and a woman. Intelligence and innate capabilities is also a factor that affects the
growth of a person (Krahn, Hughes, & Lowe, 2010). Individuals who posses high intelligent
quotient and are endowed with leadership qualities find it easier to get ahead in life. People who
lack intelligence and inborn qualities have a tough time surviving and finding the right job.
In order to lessen the gap and provide a secure job to the citizens of Canada the
government can adopt many methods to approach the problem. The government can practice
economic neoliberalism which is the practice of free market and removal of the barriers for the
free flow of the goods and services. This will lead to a better economy. This promotes economic

4WORK CULTURE IN CANADA
growth and development (Marsh,2018). The government should take severe actions against
racism and other forms of discrimination. It should stand up anything that reduces the dignity of
humans no matter what class or group they belong to. The Canadian government should give
them equal opportunities. The government should promote tolerance among the immigrants and
the minorities who live in Canada. For Canada, unemployment remains a huge challenge. The
government should review the Income Tax Act thoroughly. There have been many pleads and
grievances made to the government already. The government should look into it and address the
problems one by one. The governments should implement programs to increase employment,
train the unskilled masses, educate them, train them in fields like science and technology and
other such programs that might help the deprived masses. The Temporary Foreign Workers
Program should be revised and changes should be made to increase the social security of the
immigrants who come to the country for working. The changes made earlier in this program
have increased abuse and molestation. The problem is that the non-renewable work permit
expires and the government should look into the matter because these temporary workers are
actually permanent citizens of the country. The legislations should be modernized in order to
protect the workers socially and economically. The workers should have the right to negotiate
the deserving wages. The legislations should be changed according to the present times. Another
policy that the government of Canada can implement is the austerity policy that aims at reducing
public sector employment to privatize the public sector. This will stabilize the workers and help
on economic growth.

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