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The 2022 Wellness At Work Report

Just like the years preceding it, 2022 shaped up to be another year for the history books. 

When you think about 2022 now, what comes to mind? We’ll take a guess and say Covid-19 was the first thing that appeared, and the influx of case numbers being experienced at that time. Following that might have been skills shortages, or even supply chain issues. With so many factors at play, everyone was feeling an unnerving mix of uncertainty and concern. And while it was good that the light at the end of the tunnel was getting brighter, what lay ahead remained unclear.

It wasn’t just Covid-19 that was impacting everyone. The rising cost of living and inflation were also affecting day-to-day life. Prices for everyday items and services had hit a three-decade high. According to stats.govt.nz, from the December 2020 quarter to the December 2021 quarter, the consumer price index (CPI) had increased by 5.9%.

Let’s not forget the worldwide phenomenon of the Great Resignation. The Employee Movement and Retention survey from September 2021 ‌signalled that 50% of workers in New Zealand would be looking for a new role within the next 12 months. This shift in attitudes towards work was seeing employees question the type of work they were doing and thinking more about how they could seek fulfilment in their professional lives. It was causing an entire change in the way people thought and felt about work.

To say that there was a lot going on in New Zealand at that time would have been an understatement – and these events were influencing employees in a major way. They could significantly impact one’s sense of wellbeing, which could seep into every part of life – including work.

 

What’s in the report? 

  • We cast our minds back to 2021
  • The seven dimensions of wellness
  • The key findings
  • Mental health and the pandemic
  • Career health and the Great Resignation
  • Financial health and a fluctuating market
  • Are we supporting working parents?
  • The big picture on employee health
  • Survey demographics and methodology

The Wellness at Work Report’s key findings 

 

KEY LEARNING: Employees are loyal to workplaces that care about wellness

We knew that employers liked to see returns on their investments. 

Especially for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), they needed to know that their efforts were worth it. The writing was on the wall; we found that employees who rated their employer’s commitment to wellness as good were 50% more likely to say they were loyal to a business. This could have saved major costs associated with turnover and made all the difference to a growing company.

 

Over half of NZ workers were struggling with burnout at work

When it came to mental health, burnout was spreading quickly across the working population. Workers had felt a sense of extreme fatigue recently, with 53% signalling that it had affected them within the past three months (November-January). This came as no surprise, especially as the effects of Covid-19 and job shortages continued to be felt. Only 29% were sure that they felt no sense of burnout from their work.

 

The majority of NZ workers felt they were in meaningful work

When we were fulfilled in our professional lives, it contributed to our overall sense of purpose and wellbeing. After a tumultuous two years, we could see firsthand that it had left a wave of burnout – but we were also sharing some positive news. The majority of New Zealand workers were finding fulfilment in their working life, with 70% of workers agreeing that the work they did was meaningful to them. Encouragingly, only 10% disagreed with this statement.

 

The pandemic had many employees questioning their careers

Even though many employees found their work meaningful, the importance placed on a career overall might have been shifting. 41% of workers agreed that Covid-19 had decreased the importance they placed on their career. In line with the Great Resignation, this signalled that more workers could have been seeking a change of scenery, an industry-swap, or even a side-step. As many had made the switch to remote working during the pandemic, they were now considering how work could fit around their lives, rather than how their lives could support their work.

 

Kiwis accepted others in the workplace

We all wanted to love going to work each day, and workers in NZ made that a whole lot easier. We found that 76% of workers agreed their workplace accepted them for who they were as a person. Only 7% disagreed with this.

 

Most workers were stressed about finances

Whether it was due to loss of work, the uncertainty of the pandemic, or skyrocketing inflation, NZ employees were worried about their finances. A significant 62% said that they were stressed about money. Women were more likely to say they were stressed about finances, with 60% of women reporting stress, as opposed to 57% of men.

 

The big picture on employee health

Throughout this report, we’ve delved into the experiences of employee wellbeing during one of the most distinctive periods of our time. By uncovering these issues, our aim is to assist businesses in better caring for their teams and cultivating improved workplaces. When we take a broader perspective on workplace wellness, it becomes evident that NZ businesses are progressing in the right direction, even though there is still progress to be made.

What’s heartening is that 57% of employees assessed their employer’s commitment to enhancing overall wellbeing as good, whereas only 13% rated it as poor. This indicates that despite enduring one of the lengthiest and most stringent lockdowns globally, employers remained focused on their teams throughout these challenging times.

Zooming in on specific wellness aspects, similar trends seem to emerge. Forty-seven percent of employees rated their employer’s commitment to mental health and career progression as good, while 22% considered it poor. Concerning financial wellbeing, 41% regarded their employer’s commitment as good, and 26% rated it as poor. While these findings are encouraging, there remains room for improvement.

It’s important to remember that employees who feel supported in their wellbeing are more likely to attain higher levels of workplace satisfaction – a goal that all employers should consistently strive to enhance. However, the impetus to support employee wellness doesn’t solely stem from job satisfaction. Forward-thinking employers understand that for a high-performing team, employee wellbeing must exceed the average. Thriving and resilient businesses are shaped by healthy and motivated employees who are provided with an environment to excel in their work. The data presented in this report corroborates that such teams are more likely to be productive, engaged, and loyal.

 

Report survey demographics and methodology 

The findings in this report were determined from a survey organised by Employment Hero. The 11-minute online quantitative survey had been conducted using the Glow Survey platform, and survey responses were collected from the national research panel Dynata.

To complete the survey, respondents had to be employed in any capacity (full time, part-time, casual) and not own the business they worked in. The survey had been deployed using nationally representative quotas for age, gender, and location, but no active quotas were placed on the number of completed surveys.

In total, there were 1,012 survey participants. Among them, 391 working parents were surveyed, constituting 38.6% of the overall sample. The survey had been collecting responses between the 10th of February 2022 and the 15th of February 2022.

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