Congratulations! You got a job - but now what? Achieving employment after graduation is very exciting but can be stressful at the same time. Once you get a job, it is equally important to learn how you can keep your job and grow in your career through professional development and continuous learning. Many issues can affect you in the workplace, including safety matters, human rights concerns, bullying & harassment, etc. In addition, for newcomers and immigrants, a lack of knowledge of Canadian workplace cultures, expectations, and values can add more stress. It is important to learn some of the key aspects of job retention and your workplace rights and responsibilities, which will help you be successful in maintaining and growing your career.

Know Your Rights: As an employee, the first thing you need to know is your rights in Canada. You also need to know about the laws and regulations that will protect you in terms of your pay, hours of work, and safety at the workplace. In Canada, we have "The Employment Standards Act" (ESA) and it is governed by law:

“This Act provides the basic minimum standards that employers must follow in the workplace. Some companies may have policies that give employees more than the minimum entitlements by law; however, no one should be working for standards less than the ESA outlines. Each province has its own set of laws.”

Each province has its own ESA and the principles behind the standards are similar between provinces, with some minor differences. You can easily find this by doing an online search, for example, “The employment standards act of [your province]”. 

Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA): As a worker in Canada, you also have the right to a safe work environment. We have a law called the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Each province has its own version of the Act and they contain similar details. For example, click on this link to learn about Ontario’s. The OHSA sets out the rights and duties of workers, supervisors, and employers in keeping workplaces safe and healthy in provincially regulated workplaces.

Your basic rights under the OHSA are:

• The right to know about hazards in the workplace
• The right to refuse unsafe work
• The right to participate in ensuring a safe work environment

Cultural Expectations and Norms: Besides knowing your rights and responsibilities, it is also important to understand the cultural expectations of your workplace. Remember, you may be a good fit based on your competencies and skills, but if you do not understand the cultural expectations in your workplace, this could make you less successful on the job. Understanding workplace culture helps you feel more satisfied with your job. Although it may vary based on the industry and workplace, here are some strategies to understand your workplace culture and build meaningful relationships with your coworkers:

• Ask Questions: Choose someone with whom you feel comfortable in your workplace, and who you can trust to ask questions. For example, your co-worker or supervisor would have insights into how the company works.
• Be Observant: There are many “unwritten rules” that exist in a company, so play the role of an observer in understanding the unwritten rules in your organization.
• Be Patient: Starting a new job is stressful, and it usually takes time to feel comfortable in a new environment, so be patient while you learn the workplace culture. If you are not sure about anything, be polite and ask questions in a way that is considerate of other people’s feelings.

Workability Attitudes: While it is important to understand the cultural expectations and norms at your workplace, developing workability attitudes and skills are paramount in order to be successful in maintaining your job. Workability attitudes are those attitudes that you show towards people or tasks, and workability skills are abilities that are essential to any job. According to Alberta Learning Information Service, the top job retention attitudes are:

• Reliability and Dependability: demonstrating to your employer that you are a reliable worker who works to the best of your ability.
• Positive Attitude: showing that you are confident and have a positive outlook towards work and life.
• Honesty and Integrity: acting in an ethical way and showing integrity in every aspect of your work.
• Concern for Quality: having a growth mindset and being determined to continuously improve through professional development.
• Independence and Initiative: taking initiative to solve problems and seeing what needs to be done. Also being responsible for the results.
• Commitment to Your Employer and Work: showing loyalty to your employer and commitment to your job.
• Adaptability: having an attitude that helps you deal with changes in your life and your work in order to reach your goals and succeed in the workplace.
• Managing Risks: recognizing risks that can occur and taking responsibility for managing your behavior and actions in acceptable ways.
• Courtesy: showing a basic level of caring and respect for those around you.
• Positive Attitude Towards Learning: a willingness to learn and keep on learning.

Career Development and Growth: Change is constant in today’s workplace. To grow in your career, you need to keep learning. Ongoing learning also makes it easier to land your next job, if you ever need to get a new job or decide to change careers. You need to stay current in terms of updating your skills and growing your knowledge to prepare for the future. Here are some strategies to remember:

• Plan your learning with your career path in mind
• Identify what you need to learn right away – in other words, your short-term learning goals
• Identify what you want to learn over time, i.e., setting long-term learning goals
• Adapt to a changing future
• Understand your learning style
• Find out about learning options

Strategies to Balance Your Lifestyle: Finally, it is important to balance your life and work. Today’s life is hectic, and change is constant. Sometimes life can be stressful with so many roles and responsibilities, and certainly work can add more stress to our lives. According to Alberta Learning Information Service, here are some strategies to create a sense of balance between work and life:

• Say “no” to job tasks outside of work hours that are not essential. Talk to your supervisor if you are not able to manage your workload and ask for additional support
• Make time for downtime. Stress management experts say, “taking time to relax is a necessity, not a luxury”.
• Get organized and prioritize using calendars.
• Use your time efficiently. Do the most important work during a time when you are more productive.
• Set realistic standards. For example, if you have a young family, aiming for a perfectly clean house all the time creates stress.
• Have an agreement with other household members about the standards you can reasonably maintain and share the household chores with other members of your family.
• Consider flexible work arrangements such as working part-time or working on a contract basis, based on your needs.