“At a time where wages might be stagnating, workers backing themselves to jump into a new job can be the most effective way to raise their salaries,” GoGetta’s founder and CEO Colleen Getley said.
Getley said five years ago the vast majority of workers wouldn’t consider leaving for less than 10%.
“It’s a strange time for job mobility in New Zealand when on one hand people crave stability, but on the other hand they will take far less of a pay bump to jump ship,” she said.
Outside pay, 35% of people said the four-day week or hybrid working was the most important factor when considering a move – more than double that of career development, training or growth opportunities (15%).
“Generationally we have made the shift to valuing family and lifestyle,” Getley said.
“The Boomer generation were told the harder we worked the better outcomes we could achieve [but] the result was more often than not burnout.”
Getley said looking after the wellbeing of staff is critical for business owners.
“It may seem economic to run a lean team, but long hours and unpaid overtime will only result in burnout and unhappy employees who will leave as soon as the right opportunity arises,” she said.
The survey also revealed what Kiwi workers consider to be the biggest red flags when deciding to make a move: high employee turnover (29%), a culture of working unpaid overtime (14%) and poor reputation in the industry (10%) were the top three concerns.
Cameron Smith is an Auckland-based business reporter. He joined the Herald in 2015 and has covered business and sports. He reports on topics such as retail, small business, the workplace and macroeconomics.
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