More than half of NZers think job, industry secure: survey

AUCKLAND: A new nationwide survey has found more than 50% of New Zealanders believe their job and industry is secure following more than a year of coronavirus pandemic disruption.

The research, commissioned by Sydneybased HR and payroll software provider Elmo, also found 53% of New Zealanders were expecting a pay rise within the next year.

Despite the optimism about earnings and job prospects, almost a fifth of workers feel they are not working enough hours when reflecting on the past three months.

And despite being in the throes of a global health crisis, almost a fifth of workers admitted turning up to work feeling unwell.

The Elmo Employee Sentiment Report found that 40% of New Zealanders have felt burnout in the past three months. Employees working in organisations of 2000plus staff were more likely to report burnout than those working in midsized organisations or small to mediumsized businesses.

‘‘Generation Z’’ were found to be more likely to report burnout (59%) than other generations. ‘‘Millennials’’ came in at 52%, ‘‘Generation X’’ at 31% and ‘‘Baby Boomers’’ at 19%.

Twentyseven percent of New

Zealand workers reported feeling overwhelmed at work in the past three months, while 28% said they had taken on more responsibility.

Elmo chief executive Danny Lessem said that it was important that organisations had ‘‘an indepth understanding of their workforce’’ to ensure their people were not being overwhelmed with the amount of work they were required to do.

‘‘It doesn’t take long for an employee to go from feeling burnt out to feeling like they need a new job.’’

Technology could be a saving grace for many organisations to get insights from their workforce to ensure they were making sensible resourcing decisions to reduce employee turnover and improve wellbeing, he said.

New Zealand workers are largely hopeful of a pay rise over the next year, but most are not expecting a bonus for their efforts.

Fiftynine percent of workers said they were not expecting a bonus anytime soon.

Remuneration was cited as the key concern for New Zealanders when seeking a new job, followed by flexible and remote working options and the stability of the organisation.

Seventy percent of New Zealanders said better technology would assist them in their role, while threequarters said they did not believe evolving technology would result in their job being automated in the next five years.

Mr Lessem said the findings showed workers were not afraid of technology in the workplace and employers needed to consider this, as it would help workers to do their jobs better. — The New Zealand Herald