Job satisfaction is high among New Zealand workers – Media release
26 June 2013
The majority of working New Zealanders are satisfied with their jobs, and manage to achieve good work-life balance,
Statistics New Zealand said today.
The Survey of Working Life found that 85 percent of all employed people were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their
main jobs. Just 1 in 20 people were ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’.
“There are some differences in levels of job satisfaction. Self-employed people and employers tended to be more
satisfied with their jobs than employees in temporary work,” industry and labour statistics manager Diane Ramsay said.
“However, we found a different picture in satisfaction with work-life balance,” Ms Ramsay said. “Here, temporary
employees showed the highest levels of satisfaction and employers the lowest.”
Of all employed people, employers were the most likely to work more than 60 hours per week, and to report they found
work stressful.
Employees made up 84 percent of the workforce, with 90 percent of them being permanent workers and 10 percent temporary.
Just over a third of employees who had started their main job in the previous 12 months had started on a 90-day trial.
Permanent employees were asked how likely they thought they were to lose their jobs in the next 12 months – 17 percent
said they thought there was a ‘medium’, ‘high’, or ‘almost certain’ chance it might happen.
The Survey of Working Life provides official statistics about people’s work arrangements, working conditions, and job
satisfaction. The results are based on a representative sample of 14,500 employed New Zealanders.
For more information about these statistics:
ENDS