Women who work in seniors’ homes: Work-related injuries and illnesses and retention rates before the COVID-19 pandemic

While a large body of research has identified several correlates of employee turnover, little is currently known regarding the degree to which employees who work in community care facilities for the elderly (industry group 6233 in the North American Industry Classification System [NAICS]), hereafter referred to as seniors’ homes, leave the nursing and residential care facilities subsector (NAICS 623) or the health care and social assistance sector (NAICS 62) in a given year. This study fills this information gap using data from the 2016 Census of Population integrated with Statistics Canada’s 2017 and 2018 Longitudinal Worker File, which enables us to link individuals selected in 2016 to their labour market status in the next two years. Sample size limitations restricted the focus of the study to women, who represent the vast majority—roughly 85%—of employees who work in seniors’ homes. The study shows that up to 14% of women who worked in seniors’ homes in 2016 left the health care and social assistance sector that year, while up to 21% left the nursing and residential care facilities subsector. The leaving rate of women in seniors’ homes in 2016 is higher than the overall leaving rate of 12% observed when considering all industries. Women who earned relatively low wages, were not unionized or had low job tenure were generally more likely than others to leave. All else equal, immigrant women were less likely to leave than Canadian-born women. The study also shows that in the three largest provinces (Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia), Canadian-born women employed as nurse aides in seniors’ homes were, all else equal, more likely to experience injuries or illnesses in 2016 than Canadian-born women who worked in different occupations for the same employer. In these three provinces, immigrant women employed as nurse aides in seniors’ homes were less likely to experience injuries or illnesses in 2016 than Canadian-born women employed as nurse aides for the same employer. However, regardless of immigrant status, province of residence or health sector considered, women who experienced injuries or illnesses in 2016 were no more likely than other women to leave health care. The study focuses on the pre-pandemic baseline because the 2022 and 2023 tax data are not available yet. When they become available, a post-pandemic period could be analyzed and compared to the pre-pandemic baseline.