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Canadians are turning the spotlight on their careers this year, amid worries of layoffs and a declining national employment rate, according to a new Workopolis poll released Tuesday.

While the report said respondents are still largely focused on such traditional New Year's resolutions as spending more quality time with friends and family, at 56 per cent of those polled, exercising more (53 per cent) or changing their diet (45 per cent), the percentage of Canadians saying they planned to make work-related resolutions rose to 25 per cent from just 13 per cent in a similar 2006 study.

The poll noted that 65 per cent of working Canadians expect it will take a year or more for the labour market to improve, with 22 per cent anticipating better employment conditions within the next six to 12 months. Just eight per cent said they thought the job market would get better within the next three to six months, with Quebecers and those in the Prairies most likely to say things would improve in less than a year.

As such, Canadian workers are looking hard at strategies to improve their chances of financial survival, the poll said. Forty-one per cent said they would be more likely to seek out increased compensation in 2009, while 40 per cent said they would consider pursuing additional job training or skill development.

A complete career change was also a popular option, at 23 per cent, with the same percentage of respondents saying they would be more likely to take an additional job or consider part-time work.

The study added Albertans are more likely than other Canadians to look at that last option, with 34 per cent saying they would consider looking for a second or part-time job in 2009.

The poll looked at the answers of 578 working Canadians in a telephone survey. The survey is considered to be correct within 4.1 per cent.