Introduction
One of the few things that I agree with the academic leftist Jeff Noonan, professor of philosophy at the University of Windsor, Ontario, is that leftists must start where workers are at:
Political engagement begins from trying to understand where people are coming from.
But where people are coming from can be interpreted in at least two ways: objectively–what their real situaiton is, and subjectively, what their attitudes towards their interpreted situations are. In relation to workers, there is their objective situation of being treated as means towards ends defined by employers (see The Money Circuit of Capital).
Subjectively, though, there are undoubtedly a variety of attitudes and interpretations of their own work and life situations.
Some among the radical left do not even address the issue of what workers think of their own jobs. It is hardly idealist to inquire into such attitudes.
I will start to gather evidence about the attitudes of some workers in unionized (and non-unionized) settings where I have calculated the rate of exploitation of those workers. I will also in the not-too-distant future start a similar inquiry process for unionized public-sector workers with the largest employers in Canada and in various Canadian cities.
Objective Exploitation and Oppression of Sun Life Workers
What is Sun Life?
The nature of Sun Life is set out in Wikipedia:
Sun Life Financial Inc. is a Canadian financial services company. It is primarily known as a life insurance company.
In a previous post, I calculated the rate of exploitation of Sun Life workers for 2023 (see ??? ).
In this post I will write about the attitude of Sun Life workers towards their work and that company.
I will copy part of the conclusion from the post on the exploitation of Sun Life workers ((and add a clarification at the beginning):
The rate of exploitation measures the extent to which workers work for free, producing or transfering all the surplus value and hence all the profit for employers. However, even during the time when they work to produce their own wage, they are hardly free. They are subject to the power and dictates of their employer during that time as well.
So, with the adjustments in place, the rate of exploitation or the rate of surplus value=s/v=4,955/5,671=87%.
This means that, in terms of money, $1 of wage or salary of a regular Sun Life worker results in $0.87 surplus value or profit for free. Alternatively, that means that for every hour worked that results in an hourly wage, a worker at Sun Life works around an additional 52 minutes for free for the Sun Life. It also means that, within an hour worked, a worker at Sun Life works 32 minutes to obtain her/his wage or salary and 28 minutes for free for Sun Life.
In a 7.5-hour (450 minutes) work day, Sun Life workers spend 4 hours 1 minute (241 minutes) to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 3 hours 29 minutes (209 minutes) for free for Sun Life.
In an 8-hour (480 minutes) work day, Sun Life workers spend 4 hours 17 minutes (257 minutes) to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 3 hours 43 minutes (223 minutes) for free for Sun Life.
In a 9-hour (540 minutes) work day, Sun Life workers spend 4 hours 49 minutes (289 minutes) to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 4 hours 11 minutes (251 minutes) for free for Sun Life.
In a 10-hour (600 minutes) work day, Sun Life workers spend 5 hours 21 minutes (321 minutes) to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 4 hours 39 minutes (279 minutes) for free for Sun Life.
In an 11-hour (660 minutes) work day, Sun Life workers spend 5 hours 53 minutes (353 minutes) to obtain their wage for the day, and they 5 spend hours 7 minutes (307 minutes) for free for Sun Life.
In a 12-hour (720 minutes) work day, Sun Life workers spend 6 hours 25 minutes (385 minutes) to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 5 hours 35 minutes (335 minutes) for free for Sun Life.
In a 13-hour (780 minutes) work day, Sun Life workers spend 6 hours 57 minutes (417 minutes) to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 6 hours 3 minutes (363 minutes) for free for Sun Life.
In a 14-hour (840 minutes) work day, Sun Life workers spend 7 hours 29 minutes (449 minutes) to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 6 hours 31 minutes (391 minutes) for free for Sun Life.
Of course, during the time that the Sun Life worker works to receive an equivalent of her/his own wage, s/he is subject to the power of management and hence is unfree (see, for instance, Management Rights, Part Four: Private Sector Collective Agreement, Ontario and Employers as Dictators, Part One).
You would think that, given these circumstances, Sun Life workers would find their work situation mainly negative. Indeed, there are leftists who have argued that workers explicitly experience alienation from their work. David Graeber (2018), in Bullshit Jobs A Theory, states (page 19):
The result was to reveal that men are far more likely to feel that their jobs are pointless (42 percent) than women do (32 percent).
Drawing upon data provided from another survey, he states:
… the survey makes abundantly clear that ( 1) more than half of working hours in American offices are spent on bullshit, and (2) the problem is getting worse.
In another survey, we read the following (Peter Fleming (2015), The Mythology of Work: How Capitalism Persists Despite Itself, page 3):
A recent survey … reveals that only about 13 per cent of the global workforce considered themselves ‘engaged’ by their jobs. The remaining 87 per cent feel deeply alienated.
Subjective Attitudes of Sun Life Workers Toward Sun Life and Their Working Situation
The data provided below, however, does not substantiate such views.
To obtain such data, I provided a review of my last employer–Lakeshore School Division–for the website Indeed in order to gain access to company reviews.
There were 945 reviews in Canada at the time that I started this post.
Of course, the numbers above will have changed in a relatively short period of time.
Sun Life Workers’ Attitudes Towards Sun Life and Their Working Conditions
Since the last time I calculated workers’ attitudes towards a particular employer, the ratings sytems has changed somewhat. Before, each review consisted of just one number, from 5 to 1, with 5 being the most positive evaluation and 1 the worst. There are now two systems, but I will use the system closest to the one before. This system uses stars rather than numbers, with five stars meaning the same as 5 before, etc.
Distribution of the Evaluations to the Various Ratings: Quantitative Data
#5 316
#4 292
#3 194
#2 70
#1 73
Total=945
I will consider #5 and #4 ratings to be positive evaluations of their work experiences with Sun Life. I split the #3 into two since some ratings with a #3 rating are positive evaluations while others are negative. I will consider #2 and #1 ratings to be negative evaluations.
I justify the categorisation of #5 and #4 as positive because, in addition to being quantitatively higher than #3–a nominal middle evaluation–comments made by some workers that correspond to the quantitative evaluation seem to indicate a positive evaluation. Further on, I give a couple of arbitrary examples drawn from each numbered evaluation.
Positive attitude towards working for Sun Life
705 [316+292+97=705]
705/945×100=75%
Negative attitude towards working for Sun Life
240 [97+70+73=240]
240/945×100=25%
To get a flavour for the ratings, I include immediately below a couple of comments from each rating. They are not meant to be representative since I chose them to reflect the above characterizations of the evaluations.
A Few Comments from Each Evaluative Category: Qualitative Data
#5
- My Favourite Employer
Benefits Customer Service Representative
Waterloo, ON
July 4, 2025
I will start by saying that I realize things can change over time. I loved my time there. And if I didn’t relocate I never would have left. As long as you focus and follow the metrics you are treated well. I didn’t always meet my metrics in the beginning but with hard work it paid off. There was also perks we would get. On hot days for example ice cream trucks would come. Benefits were great as well pay. I miss it.
Pros
Benefits, Pay, Perks
Cons
Adherence to schedule, metrics - Essentially a happy company to work for, it is apparent that the brand and culture is mostly driven from the top-down.
Business Development Partner
Red Deer, AB
November 24, 2023
What is the best part of working at the company?
Solid Corporate reputation with a highly regarded and recognised brand.What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Constant need to meet expectations which tend to move.What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Comfortable and quiet with no drama. The company appears to value personal input.What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Varied and engaging with an ability to schedule my day to my liking.
#4
- Productive environment
Claims
Ottawa, ON
January 29, 2024
Extremely busy and lots of overtime required
Multitasking is a must and is required
Continuously learning
High demand for productivity per hour
Most departments have great staff and management
Pros
bonus once a year
Cons
required overtime - Good place to work
Administrative Assistant
Canada
October 2, 2023
Working at Sun Life offers a compelling opportunity for professional growth, backed by a rich legacy of financial expertise and a vibrant work culture fostering innovation and collaboration. The company’s commitment to employee development, evident through extensive training programs and supportive management, is a significant positive aspect.
#3
- Stability but low energy
Senior Designer
Toronto, ON
April 24, 2025
Extremely high workloads, micromanagement, daily stress, daily reminders of what tasks you need to complete even though you know very well what they are. Coaches are hit or miss: some are great and others are condescending.
Pros
Salary
Cons
Workload and general attitude of those above you
#2
- Okay place
Disability Case Manager
Canada
July 30, 2024
Sunlife is an ok place to work. They have good benefits and pay is decent on the low side. There’s very little advancement.
The preach high values, but employees are treated very poorly. You are expected to work overtime without compensation. - Deceiving
Advisor
St. Catharines, ON
July 4, 2023
They recruit based on a fantasy that you will have no set schedule and make really good money. You are self-employed. This is a commission based Job and the payment structure is so complex that managers can not explain it. If you do not hit targets you owe them!
You are required to buy their equipment, complete courses (out of pocket) and provide them with a list of your 100 contacts. Before you officially start work you must have a minimum of x amount of active flies, that equals the dollar commission amount needed and completed all your licensing. It is not explained before signing on with them.
If you are interviewing as all the questions.
Since you’re self- employed you are able to make up your own schedule, that is the only bonus.
#1
- Highly stressful
Customer Service Representative
Montréal, QC
May 23, 2024
Training was quick and there is a lack of support. This is extremely stressful when a client is on the phone and they want answers to their questions. We’re told take a message and call back. That’s not first call resolution the image they are trying to portray. This job gave me tremendous anxiety and I quit.
Pros
Benefits are somewhat good
Cons
Lack of support - Terrible organization
Financial Advisor
Remote
May 9, 2023
Terrible compensation structure. The firm ensures that they can make money off their advisors out the gate. You pay for ansolutely everything out of pocket. 0 salary and all compensation is based off commissions. Pressure you to sell to friends and family, which no matter how you position it, is extremely akward and uncomfortable to do. If you dont feel this way, you’re likely a bit naive. If you completely sell your soul and squawk their squawk you may do well. Otherwise go elsewhere, you’ll likely accumulate more debt than anything trying to float by with this organization, and they’ll gladly bill you on your way out if they can find a way to with no remorse.
Pros
Can’t think of any
Cons
Pushy, cult-like, poor comp model
Political Relevance
Such analysis forms only a preliminary tool for socialists interested in relating to workers working for this particular employer. It is crude quantitative and should be supplemented by a qualitative analysis of comments–a much more labour-intensive task.
Unlike Jane McAlevey’s approach, which focuses on organic leaders–leaders who form a key focus since winning their allegiance leads to other workers (or community members) being convinced to join a union or community campaign (see my review in the Links section)–the issue here is to see which workers are the most disgruntled and the least disgruntled in relation to a particular employer.
It may be thought that the more disgruntled workers would then be the focus of socialists’ efforts. That may well be, but the issue is of course more complicated than that. For example, for socialists the issue is not just being disgruntled against a particular employer but generalizing this to all employers. It would be necessary for socialists to use their judgement in determining how susceptible disgruntled workers are to such generalization. In some cases, less disgruntled workers may well be more susceptible to generalizing than more disgruntled workers. Initially, though, it does give socialists a preliminary method of approaching workers, at least in a general way. Of course, no specific workers can be identified through such an approach. That would be the responsibility of socialists engaging with specific workers or community members.
The Abolitionary 