Caring Workforce Survey

The Caring sectors are experiencing wide-spread and difficult staffing challenges, such as staff shortages, high staff turnover, and burnout. Waterloo Region, Guelph-Wellington, and Dufferin County are all growing in population, and will rely even heavier on these services in the future.

Our Caring Workforce Survey was active throughout November 2025, and has now closed. A report with summarized findings will be released in March 2026. The survey collected input from staff who work in the caring sectors on topics including:

• Workplace preferences (i.e. benefits, flexible work arrangements, recognition) 
• Ideas for attracting, retaining, and nurturing staff 
• Psychological health and safety in the workplace, and ideas for improvement 
• Ideas for structural change 

Project Timeline 

• November 2025 – Caring Workforce Survey (now closed)
• Dec 9, 2025 – In-person input event for frontline staff: Building Strong Foundations of Care
• Mar 2026 – Release of our report with a summary of findings from the survey and in-person session

More information about this work supporting the Caring sectors, including past reports, is available at: https://www.workforceplanningboard.com/projects/supporting-the-frontline-non-profit-caring-sectors/

This Employment Ontario project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.