PSES Results for the EX Group

• Less EXs feel that their organization does a good job of raising awareness of mental health in the workplace (80%, down from 90%), and only 44% rate their mental health as excellent or very good.
• More than 1 in 3 (37%) indicate having a high or very high level of stress, and as in 2020, 47% feel emotionally drained after their workday.
• Sources of work-related stress are heavy workload (54%), not enough employees to do the work (48%, up from 41%), unreasonable deadlines (45%), long hours (42%), trying to balance work and personal life (40%), competing or constantly changing priorities (30%, up from 21%), lack of clear expectations (17%, up from 12%), pay or other compensation issues (15%), and lack of control or input into decision-making (14%, up from 8%).
• Almost 1 in 10 (9%) feels that racism in their organization has had a negative impact on their mental health.
• And fewer than 3 out of 4 (72%) would describe their workplace as psychologically healthy, even less at the EX01 level (69%).

These results are in line with the continued increase in demand for APEX’s Advisory Services for Executives, which held 1787 client-sessions in 2022-2023, an increase of almost 9% over the previous year. Not a week goes by without requests for information and assistance from executives who are considering a voluntary demotion out of the executive ranks or to explore strategies and resources to improve mental health and resilience.

And further to the 2021 EWHS, APEX has taken part in over 70 sessions with organizations and communities to share the results of the study, hold discussion on best practices, and highlight areas of focus to improve organizational and executive health. A report on best practices is forthcoming. We have also launched a Deputy Circle, to encourage discussions on required measures and possible course of action at the highest level.

• Welcome news is the fact that 93% of EXs are proud of the work they do, and that 87% get a sense of satisfaction from their work.
• But only 65% of them feel their senior management makes effective and timely decisions (down from 75%), and 67% indicate that essential information flows effectively from senior management to staff.
• Although 84% feel that their immediate supervisor supports their career goals, only 71% say their organization does a good job of supporting their career development.
• 10% of all EXs and 12% of EX01s indicate that they don’t have support at work to provide a high level of service. EXs overall feel that the quality of their work suffers because of having to do the same or more work but with fewer resources (54%), unreasonable deadlines (50%), constantly changing priorities (41%), too many approval levels (39%), and high staff turnover (37%, an increase of 15 points).
• And 48% of EXs intend to leave their current position in the next two years (up from 42); most EXs for a position in their current (35%) or another (37%) department, except at the EX05 level, where 37% plan to retire (was 30%) within that timeframe.

APEX has also organized 14 well-attended virtual learning events over the past year, covering topics such as Making the Leap to the Executive Rank, Leading in a Hybrid Workplace, Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Evolving Workplace, Healthy Boundaries by Design, Preparing for your Retirement as an Executive and Influential Leadership. And our signature events, the 2022 Ceremony of Entry into the Executive Ranks and the 2023 Leadership Summit and Awards of Excellence Ceremony, were held in hybrid mode with a strong in-person component, for the first time since 2019.

We have also partnered with several communities, networks and organizations, to organize mentoring pilots, promote learning opportunities, find volunteers for consultation sessions, provide networking opportunities and share tips and guidance.

• Results show a decline in the percentage of EXs who would recommend their organization as a great place to work (78%, down from 84%).
• More than 1 in 10 (11%) does not feel valued at work and 14% say they do not receive meaningful recognition for work well done. (It is worth noting that 65% of respondents of the 2021 EWHS raised the issue of an effort/reward imbalance.)
• Only 2 in 3 indicate they have support at work to balance their work and personal life, down from 75% in 2019, and just over 1 in 4 (27%) can complete their assigned workload during regular work hours (compared to 36% in 2019).
• Despite the Call to action on diversity and inclusion, significantly less EXs feel that their organization implements initiatives that promote anti-racism in the workplace (a drop of 11 points to 74%), and only 65% of EXs (58% of EX01s) feel that the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion has had a positive impact in their organization. Only 49% of all employees do.
• Pay and other compensation issues remain areas of concern, with 30% of EXs indicating having been impacted over the last 12 months. The issue remains unresolved for 77% of them (up from 59%). Of those impacted, half are unsatisfied with the support they got from their organization to help resolve the problem, and 69% (up from 59%) are unsatisfied with the support they received from the Pay Centre.

APEX, as the voice of the executive community, continues to advocate for improvements to the terms and conditions of employment of executives. The last decade has seen an erosion of what it means to be an executive, and the issues of salary compression and inversion have compounded the problem. APEX has been advocating for changes in how total compensation, including performance pay and terms and conditions of employment for executives, is established. We are seeking changes to the process, to ensure total compensation is fair, objective, timely, transparent, and effective in attracting and retaining top talent to the executive cadre. To that end, we are recommending the reconstitution of an External Advisory Committee on Executive Compensation. Our proposal on terms of reference for such a committee was shared with the President of the Treasury Board earlier this year.