Canadian employers need to work a little harder to improve their workers’ level of job satisfaction, according to a Royal Bank of Canada survey released today.

The new workplace study from RBC shows that while Canadians are just as satisfied with their jobs as they were in 1998, the percentage of “very satisfied” working Canadians has dropped substantially.

“The Competition for Canadian Talent,” conducted by Ipsos Reid, shows when it comes to grading their employers overall, Canadians are stingy with the marks, with fewer than one in five workers (18%) handing out an “A” grade. Forty-three per cent handed out “B” grades while 28% think their employers are simply average “C”s. Fewer than one in ten (8%) think their workplaces are worthy of no more than a “D” overall, while three per cent offered up a failing grade.

“A report card full of Bs and Cs generally indicates a need for improvement and this one isn’t any different,” said Christianne Paris, RBC’s vice-president, recruitment and learning. “Employers committed to being successful are going to have to work harder and do better to attract and retain valued employees in the current competitive landscape.”

According to the survey, almost nine in ten (86%) Canadians are satisfied with their jobs, but only one-third (36%) say they are very satisfied. This is a significant change from 1998 when RBC last checked the pulse of the Canadian workplace and half (49%) the working population said they were very satisfied with their jobs.

Older workers, those in senior management and those earning more than $40,000 a year tend to be most satisfied with their jobs.

Only half (51%) of the survey respondents find their work to be challenging and interesting, with 15% going so far as to say they find their jobs extremely boring.

Three-quarters (74%) of Canada’s working population say it’s important to share similar values with an employer. Also noteworthy is that almost all (87%) agree it is important to love and value the type of work they do and more than half (63%) say they need to be constantly challenged.

More than half (59%) respect their employer, and just under half (48%) trust their employers or have a strong sense of loyalty (52%) to them. In fact, if offered a comparable job with more pay somewhere else, 28% would stay where they are. The same percentage (23%) that consider the atmosphere at their workplace depressing also think their employers care only about shareholders. Fourteen per cent are concerned about losing their job.

“The competition for working Canadians is already fierce and it will continue to be even more so in the coming years as the baby boomers get closer to retirement age,” noted Paris. “Creating inclusive working environments where people of all generations want to work and feel good about their jobs and their workplace is paramount to keeping this country’s economy moving ahead at full-steam.”