Which Kiwi Businesses Are Most Likely To Lose Their Workers?

New research shows that those businesses that don’t have a wellbeing programme in place are more likely to see workers heading for the door – yet one in three Kiwi workers are not being offered any wellbeing services.

Newly released data from the Skills Consulting Group Work Wellbeing Index surveying more than 1800 New Zealand workers reveals 55% of workers who say they aren’t offered a wellbeing programme in their workplace admit they are likely to look for a new job within the next year.

“Businesses need to sit up and come to grips with the impact of what not having a wellbeing strategy could do to their bottom line. The cost of recruitment and training new staff can be significant, and of course there is also the loss of IP and productivity when people walk,” says Jane Kennelly, GM Wellbeing, Skills Consulting Group.

“It’s Ok-nomics coming home to roost. This is a concept that reinforces if staff ‘are ok’ and feel valued, rewarded, and listened to, they will create a culture of success. Staff who don’t will have the opposite effect. Ignoring this principle could seriously cost your business,” says Kennelly.

The Work Wellbeing Index measured the New Zealand workforce’s average wellbeing score st 61 out of 100. However the score drops for employees working without formal wellbeing support - such as an Employee Assistance Programme – dipping to 52.

Of these employees, one in three workers are also reporting that they have experienced burnout in their place of work and likely to leave.

“We know that the past two years of the pandemic have put huge pressure on people. That isn’t new. But the fact that now 55% of workers are saying they will leave their roles within the next year because their employer isn’t taking their wellbeing seriously enough, that’s concerning.

“There is definitely a disconnect between what employees want and what businesses offer,” says Kennelly.

“On the other side of the coin, we know many Kiwi companies do want to deliver wellbeing solutions for their people, they do care, but they seem to be struggling with how to provide the right tools.”

The report outlines the key drivers that can support the development of a wellbeing culture, and these include showing genuine care, enabling the care of self and team wellbeing, managers showing genuine care and formal wellbeing programmes.

Businesses with a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programme in place also have higher levels of wellbeing within their workforce – a score of 75 for those with a Diversity programme, compared with the overall national wellbeing ranking of 61.

Compared to the Skills Consulting Group’s 2021 Wellbeing index, Government, Hospitality and Retail workers are experiencing the biggest decline in wellbeing scores.

Wellbeing Index by industry

Wellbeing Index by Region

See the Skills Consulting Group Work Wellbeing Index 2022 ‘Tackling rising staff attrition’ report here. 

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