Workplace happiness key to retaining staff amid the ‘Great Resignation’

Across the world large waves of workers have been changing jobs, following the ongoing impacts of the pandemic. The health insurer says it wanted to gauge the sentiment of the workforce locally, and to find out what aspects of people’s jobs make them happier in their employment.

Survey participants across a wide range of sectors were asked to share the best things about their job, as well as indicate their job satisfaction, including how those feelings might have changed since Covid-19 reached New Zealand’s shores.

Nearly half of those surveyed (46%) said they feel grateful to have their job, with this figure slightly higher for female respondents (49%) compared to men (41 per cent).

Workers in the education, training (63%) and healthcare and social assistance (49%) sectors topped the list. However, just over a third of those surveyed said they enjoy going to work most days (35 percent). This increased significantly for those working in education and training (55 percent) while people employed in manufacturing ranked lowest out of all industries (24%). Twice as many men (15%) than women (7%) said they already had their dream job.