Furthermore, 87 per cent said they had experienced negative emotional impacts including anxiety and excessive worrying.
EMA chief executive Brett O'Riley said the survey is a clear warning bell - to businesses that aren't already doing so - to pay more attention to employees' wellbeing.
"We found the number one cause of workplace stress is understaffing [63 per cent], which often leads to poor work-life balance and places pressure on employees to work longer hours," he said.
"Flow-on effects can impact an individual's wellbeing, but also productivity at the business and its sustainability into the future.
"What we're seeing is that more people, from all age groups, across the workforce are talking about mental wellbeing – both employers and employees. Wellbeing was an issue being talked about more pre-pandemic and the pandemic has reinforced the importance of the issue in the workplace."
Just over half of employees (52 per cent) said they think their company is proactive when it comes to wellbeing.
It's unsurprising then that workers are checking out, with popular trends such as "quiet quitting" gaining momentum.
Data from human resources platform MyHR showed between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, staff turnover increased to 58.2 per cent nationally, up 10 per cent from 2020 to 2021.
O'Riley said he wasn't surprised that one in four Kiwis could change their job in the next 12 months given all the talk around people wanting to change jobs.
"However, employers have been working harder to retain staff, by offering flexible work conditions and working with existing staff on career progression/development and adding new skills to help them progress and fill gaps within the workplace," he said.
"We are seeing slightly higher staff turnover rates but other factors such as staff poaching and the pent-up demand for OE have also contributed."
At health insurer nib New Zealand, chief executive Rob Hennin says staff are provided with the autonomy to choose when, where and how they work.
"nib has embraced flexible working, which enables our people to have a better work-life balance," he said.
"Wellbeing is about physical, mental, and social health. It's important that workplaces put policies and initiatives in place that support employees."
Hennin said that could mean someone starting work early so they can do the school pick-up or choosing to work later so they can be active in the morning.
He said a proactive approach to workplace health and wellbeing is the right thing to do by employees and it can help increase productivity, retain staff and help attract new talent.
According to the survey, wellbeing initiatives and subsidies (69 per cent) was the most important employee offering when considering changing jobs.
Regular wellbeing check-ins with workplace/manager (61 per cent) and medical/health insurance (57 per cent) were also in the top five.
