as COVID-19 As the pandemic ripped through Quebec’s under-staffed and ill-prepared nursing homes, David Landsman was one of the province’s “guardian angels” in health care who rushed to the front lines.
Orderley was posted from his position in a psychiatric unit at a Montreal hospital and left his second job to work at a long-term care home in the west end of the city. The Landsman stayed with volunteers and military members for more than two months in the spring of 2020.
Every day, he donned his scrubs, put on his personal protective equipment and extended a helping hand as he experienced some of the worst moments in the lives of seniors and their families.
The Landsman was both a caregiver and a witness. In one instance, a health care worker held the hand of a healthy and independent 90-year-old man as he struggled to breathe while his family said goodbye to Korea on a tablet. The resident was in good condition till he had contracted COVID. He died within a week.
Landsman would often hold patients’ hands as their loved ones, barred from entering long-term care homes, spoke to them remotely for the last time. It was another world.
“To this day, I have this PTSD nightmare where I’m back at the residence and walking down the halls,” Landsman said. “And I hear someone say ‘Pal, dude,’ and when we walk into the room they say ‘Can you lift my pillow?’
“Because that’s all we could do. You know, we can’t give them more oxygen because they’ve already gone out.”
When the Landsman’s deployment ended, he was given a short break before going back to his shift at the hospital. But the death and pain of the patients stayed with them. He was tired of all this. On top of that, his hours were everywhere and he started to feel like a number.
“I didn’t feel anything special,” Landsman said. “I thought I was expendable.”
Landsmen are among those who changed jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. With their first child on the way, he got a new opportunity in November 2021 where he will not only feel valued but will be able to spend time with his wife and daughter.
He took on the role of patient care coordinator at a dental clinic very close to home on Montreal’s south coast. He can go to and from office. Landsman still helps patients and is excited to go to work. In his new role, he is not working every evening or even on weekends.
“It was definitely the pandemic that made me reevaluate things in life,” he said.
‘Chasing money is not everything’
The Landsman is far from alone and it’s not just health care workers who are quitting their jobs. Experts say the health crisis has prompted workers to pivot and take stock of their careers.
Moshe Lander, professor of economics at Concordia University, noted that people were thrown into uncertainty – and “all we are saying is that the pandemic has turned us into some capacity.” Faced with rising cost of living, labor shortages and scattered shutdowns over the past two years, workers and businesses alike are being reevaluated.
“Some people have just decided that chasing money is not the be-all and end-all,” he said.
Michael Zemeriz is another Montrealer who chose to pivot during the health crisis. When the COVID-19 wave first hit, his old work was initially cut short and he had time to think about his career.
“The pandemic really did, I think, make me think about what I want in my life,” he said.
With a background in communications and visual effects, he worked behind the scenes, but Zemeriz lights up when he talks about acting. He also loves art and community. He decided to dive.
“I mean, who knows what’s going to happen in the future… Maybe it will change,” he said. “But I think right now I’ve realized that’s what I want to do and I’m moving on with it. And I feel like it’s been like that consistently every day.
“So it’s important to just check in with yourself. Take each day as it comes.”
Changing jobs or choosing a different path can be tough all together, but it’s something that human resources experts like Sherry Rabinovich, a people and culture director, also urge workers to do. It takes courage, she said, but “sometimes the things that are the scariest are the most valuable.”
Labor shortages have kept Montrealers in place as well, although it has been hard for companies in various sectors.
November and December are some of the busiest months for retail stores as holidays loom, yet some in the city were forced to reduce operating hours. Last year Due to shortage of workers. During this, curbside garbage pickup Some towns and cities in the Montreal area were delayed this spring because about 30 employees were missing at the company.
On a larger scale, the Quebec government announced a foreign recruitment blitz in April, hoping to recruit 3,000 workers the following year. Labor Minister Jean Bolet also recently set up a committee to look into reports that the increasing number of Children aged 11 to 14 joining the workforce Due to continuous labor shortage.
That crisis is not going to go away anytime soon. Rabinovich doesn’t anticipate that it will slow down before 2025.
“I really don’t know how we’re going to get all these bodies to fill all the jobs.”
Rising cost of housing, language law also in vogue
Montreal, once seen as an affordable city and optimal for work-life balance, is changing. Once hailed as a renters’ paradise, a housing crisis changed it and vacancy rate About three per cent are sitting in the city. For potential homeowners, even as sales numbers begin to decline, there has been a price jump For both condominiums and single family homes.
The job market has also been fueled by people looking for some sort of certainty, according to Lander.
In some cases, people are worried about their jobs. soon to be automated Or if there is any other pandemic-induced lockdown they are expendable. In other cases, notes Lander, some workers realize that their wages are not enough to get into the housing market or buy things they once thought attainable.
“And if you start to realize that all your efforts are not allowing you to become a consumer the way you want to, why are you doing it?” Lander said.
In Montreal, and more broadly in Quebec, another factor that could result in workers looking for opportunities elsewhere is Bill 96, a new law that aims to strengthen and protect the French language. The government has defended its law – which includes tough language requirements for companies, schools and immigrants – calling it “moderate”.
But businessmen are worried. in juneA group of tech companies has asked the government to stop the billIt is unrealistic to say that immigrants need to learn French within six months.
This is a concern for the Czemerys, who grew up in western Canada. He plans to move to Vancouver, where he has family, and where there are more opportunities for English-speaking actors.
“I don’t speak French well. I’ve been here for a while and I’ve been able to work in English, but I don’t really have the enthusiasm to learn French,” he said. “And then this new bill comes.” has been, (seems to be) scary to me. So that too is a part of that.”
According to Lander, the Quebec government’s approach to policy is partly attributable to the labor shortage that is visible here compared to the provinces. He said Bill 96 is not only “heavy-handed”, but that the government is “too rigid” about language requirements – especially for workers who are interested in moving here – when it must use soft incentives. And try to woo workers, he said.
“You start having these additional requirements or start labeling certain jobs that may not be there for some people,” Lander said. “Yeah, it’s discriminatory and it’s not discriminatory in a positive way.”
‘Now I feel a breath of fresh air’
Most people afford their jobs, Lander said. But workers are now looking for employment that suits their exact specifications, be it a fixed schedule, benefits, the option to work remotely or otherwise. In fact, a recent Ipsos survey found that many Canadians want to continue working from home and Nearly one in three is willing to change jobs to do so,
For the Landsman, his salary as an orderly was not an issue – especially with the premium for working the night shift. In his new role, there was a cut in pay but he has got a better work-life balance.
“Now I feel like a breath of fresh air. It’s good to come to work,” Landsman said.
David S. Landsman with his family. He switched careers during the pandemic and got a chance to spend more time with his wife and daughter.
Submitted by David S. Landsman
The jump to acting was also the right call for Czemerys. Not only is he passionate about what he does, but there are well-paid and exciting opportunities along that path – and this is just the beginning. He encourages others to follow their passion, as long as they can pay the bills.
“Even though I probably won’t be able to make that much money or comfort, but you know in the short term, I think overall I’d be more than happy to pursue acting and go down that path,” Zemries said.
– wooith files from Global News Morning and The Canadian Press
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