Good morning, Hills Florists, Laura speaking
[Reporter] When burnout set in rather than persevere Laura Sousa decided to pivot
A few months ago she quit her job as a bank executive to work at her local flower shop and hasn't looked back since
You realize that life is dear and precious and you want to make the most of it
and so I think that COVID helped me see what's really important and have the courage to make the change
[Reporter] Sousa loved her old job but once the pandemic hit long days blurred into nights in front of a computer
She missed the face-to-face interactions with her team and could barely sleep
I was thinking non-stop. I was thinking in the middle of the night, I was thinking during dinner
and I found that I lacked the motivation that I had had previously
[Reporter] When she mused out loud about working here it helped her realize how much she needed a change
I'd be sitting in a meeting and I would kind of visualize like
if I was working in the flower shop right now what would I be doing and so that really helped
me sort of be OK with it and realize yeah it's different but I think it's something I'm ready for
[Reporter] Chronic exhaustion among workers is at unprecedented levels and people are making
work changes like never before
It's happening on a daily level and people don't stop sit back and often reflect daily how am I feeling
[Reporter] John Trougakos is a workplace expert at the University of Toronto, he calls it a parallel pandemic
and says according to the data he's tracked, up to 80 per cent of the workforce in Canada
has reported burnout in the last couple of years. From white collar jobs to front-line workers
people are quitting in record numbers
You know they're burnt out they're stressed and it's not worth for them continuing on that occupation anymore
so they have to find a way to alleviate the pressure and the stress and burn out their feeling
I might just quit because I can't take it anymore
[Reporter] Mavelyn Ferguson has worked as a personal support worker in long-term care facilities
for nearly 20 years and has never been this close to leaving
It's changed a lot we are scared but what can you do that's your job
and even I don't want to go to work I have to. Who is going to look after all those seniors?
And some of them don't have a family and they all depend on you
[Reporter] Ferguson says staffing is often short and she's always afraid of getting her family sick too
To ease the stress she now works fewer hours, but the heavy workload and low pay makes her wonder
how much longer she can hang on
If we get more money I might carry on for another year and if not
I'm just going to quit
[Reporter] The pandemic has forced a closer look at the value of mental health in general
and while there are promises to do more from investing in health care to businesses shortening work weeks
two years in, fewer people are willing to wait for things to get better
This feeling of being stuck and stagnant and this repetitive almost Groundhog Day
What people have realized is they need change they want change
They're looking for something more, something better something more fulfilling
[Reporter] Sharina Crews is a career coach whose business has boomed in the last couple of years
Now there's that additional interest and focus on well wait a minute let me take a look at my whole life
my whole career and really figure out what do I want my future to look like
what's that impact that I want to have and what does that mean when it comes to work
[Reporter] For Sousa it meant turning her back on a big title and a big paycheque
with the support of her family she can afford to make the change and she's grateful for that
Having the ability to change something and now I'm sleeping way better at night it's very obvious
that it was affecting me so profoundly that with that change I can now, I'm healthier
I'm much in a much better place
Being in a happier healthier place, Sousa says the pandemic has shown her it's the only place to be
Ioanna Roumeliotis, CBC News. Toronto