Nearly half of departing Health P.E.I. employees who took part in exit surveys as part of an effort to improve staff retention cited a “toxic workplace” as one of their main reasons for leaving the provincial health authority.

That information comes from an internal report on retention that consultant Garth Waite prepared for Health P.E.I.

CBC News obtained the report through a freedom of information request.

Health P.E.I. gave Waite the names of 55 employees who left jobs with the health authority between March 2020 and January 2021. Of those people, 31 completed exit surveys that became the basis of his report. 45% of departing Health P.E.I. staff surveyed say ‘toxic workplace’ main reason for leaving

Ignoring the fact that the CBC is resorting to sensationalist misleading headlines to gain ‘clicks’, I find it hard to believe that an organization full of smart educated people like Health PEI would rely upon a simple survey to try and gain insight to the deluge of people leaving the organization (we expect the knuckleheads at Ch’town city hall to use these methods, not health professionals). With peoples lives at stake one would expect Health PEI would try harder. Is it not common practice for organizations of this size to have an even an exit interview? It was a requirement for every organization I worked for for the past 25 years.

I assume the consultant hired to do this work was specifically instructed to use this method, because his background would illustrate he understands how to gain an in-depth understanding of how people come to understand, act and manage their day-to-day situations in particular settings. Something a survey would be hard to provide.