If you feel like you’re being pushed around in life, you’re not alone. Our latest research has revealed that Canadians are increasingly feeling a sense of powerlessness in their lives. This sentiment has grown steadily, fueled by economic challenges and growing perceptions of inequality.
In 2019, we ran a national study on the quality of work and economic life with the help of the Angus Reid Group. Since then, we’ve repeated this survey every year, amassing a dataset of 23,000 Canadians across the socio-economic spectrum.
We have repeated questions that measure what researchers call helplessness, which captures the lack of personal control and powerlessness we feel when dealing with problems and events in life.
One of the most intriguing questions we ask study participants is how much they agree or disagree with the statement: “Sometimes I feel like I’m being pushed around in life.”
In September 2019, 45 percent of workers agreed with this statement. In September 2020, despite the social and economic upheaval of the pandemic, it fell to 43 percent. In 2021 and 2022, 46 percent agreed with this statement. But then, the needle started to move.
(Scott Schiemann)
By 2023, it rose to 56 percent. And in our survey of 2,500 Canadian workers conducted in May 2024, 58 percent reported feeling pushed in life.
That’s up 15 points from the low in 2020. It’s rare to detect so much movement in a social-psychological measure in such a short period — that is, unless something dramatic happens.
Economic darkness
Since 2019, we’ve repeatedly asked Canadians: “How has your experience of the cost of living changed over the past few years? Would you say it’s gotten a lot worse, somewhat worse, stayed the same, gotten somewhat better, or a lot better?”
In 2019, 66 percent said the cost of living had gotten somewhat or much worse — with 27 percent reporting much worse. That baseline before the pandemic was already bleak. But by 2022, the clouds darkened: 82 percent said somewhat or much worse—and 34 percent reported much worse.
By 2023, 84 percent said the cost of living had gotten somewhat or much worse. And in our May 2024 survey, these numbers held. Now, roughly half of Canadian workers report that the cost of living is done much worse.
(Scott Schiemann)
As Canadians have become increasingly pessimistic about the economy and finances, we were surprised at how dramatically the needle has moved.
When the economic gloom grows so heavy, an increase in powerlessness is not surprising. Both are intertwined. Negative news about the cost of living is ubiquitous, so it’s reasonable to think it’s having an effect.
In 2019, 55 percent of those who said the cost of living got a lot worse felt pushed, compared to 43 percent of those who said it got somewhat worse. Only 35 percent of those who said the cost of living had stayed the same felt pushed.
Our 2024 survey finds a similar pattern – but now it’s intensified: 66 per cent of Canadians who say the cost of living has gotten much worse feel pushed, compared to 51 per cent who say the cost of living has become somewhat worse. But now, even 46 percent of those who say the cost of living has remained the same feeling put off in life.
Perceptions of inequality
The cost-of-living needle isn’t the only one moving. Perceptions of inequality in Canadian society have also changed significantly. And this has also contributed to the great increase in impotence.
Read more: Canadians are losing faith in the economy — and it’s affecting their perception of inequality
To measure perceived inequality, we used a well-established method that researchers have used for decades in the Social Inequality Module of the International Program of Social Survey. In our survey, we showed respondents a diagram of five types of societies and asked them, “What type of society is Canada today—which diagram does it come closest to?”
(International Social Survey Program)
Type A reflects extreme inequality, with a small elite at the top, a few people in the middle, and most people at the bottom. In our 2019 survey, only 19 percent saw Canada as Type A. Now, in 2024, 38 percent see Canada that way. The share that sees Canada as a middle-class society (Type D) fell from 26 percent to 15 percent.
The extreme swings in perceived inequality in just a five-year period are startling – and so is its growing association with powerlessness. In 2019, 50 percent of study participants who saw Canada as Type A felt pushed in life; now, 68 percent of them do. The perception of the same level of extreme inequality in Canada now hurts even more.
How impotence affects daily life
The perception of a worsening cost of living, combined with seeing Canada as significantly more unequal, is creating a perfect storm for a deteriorating sense of control in everyday life. Our capacity to move forward in life now feels more determined by the whims of powerful others.
This is a worrying trend for our collective psychological well-being. The most disadvantaged people tend to be the most depressed and distrustful of others – two indicators that reflect the daily sense of alarm, hopelessness and doubt that disadvantaged Canadians can feel when thinking about the economy.
The growing sense of powerlessness among Canadians is a troubling trend that reflects deeper economic and social divisions. It is essential to address these challenges to improve the overall well-being and mental health of Canadians. Our collective quality of life is at stake.
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Image Source : theconversation.com
