Burnout is at an all-time high in the New Zealand workforce, and most employees are unsure if they want to spend another year in their jobs.
File image. Photo: 123RF
That's according to a survey of 900 workers by company Frog Recruitment.
It says 68 percent reported feeling more burnt out than this time last year, and 62 percent were either looking to change jobs this year, or weren't sure if they'd stay in their current role.
Frog Recruitment's managing director Shannon Barlow told Morning Report that was concerning.
"If you didn't take employee wellbeing seriously last year, first of all, you need a bit of a reality check" - Frog Recruitment's managing director Shannon Barlow
"We thought things were bad enough last March after a year of living and working through the pandemic. But things we've actually got worse, not better.
"I think one of the key things is there's a lot of balls up in the air, but one of the key factors is that added pressure. So we've found that Kiwis are working much longer hours and having to cover more work with less people, so whether that's due to absences with people isolating.
"The general talent shortage is not being able to get in good staff and also coping with an increase in resignations as well."
Employers needed to "up their games" to understand their workforce's wellbeing, she said.
They also needed to place importance on that - and come up with solutions to improve mental health or else risk losing staff.
"Only a third of the people surveyed said they intended to stay in their jobs and nearly half of the people who were looking to leave cited poor leadership of the reason, so we really need to step up.
"And if you didn't take employee wellbeing seriously last year, first of all, you need a bit of a reality check, but you are definitely going to be at risk of losing talent or having to deal with some serious health issues so you need to get up to speed."