Around 22 per cent of New Zealand businesses say they have noticed instances of ‘quiet quitting’ within their organisations.
Quiet quitting is a term that was coined last year to describe employees who opt out of tasks beyond their assigned role and become generally less invested in their work.
The finding comes from the 2023 Workplace Wellness Report, released by Southern Cross Health Society in partnership with BusinessNZ.
Undertaken every two years, the report is New Zealand’s most comprehensive study into workplace wellbeing.
While the majority of organisations surveyed said they hadn’t noticed it taking place, around one in five said there had been instances of it.
A similar number of businesses said they were unsure if quiet quitting was taking place.
Southern Cross Health Society CEO Nick Astwick said given this is the first time the Workplace Wellness Report has included a question about quiet quitting, it’s difficult to know how much of New Zealand’s workforce had been partaking in quiet quitting before 2022.
“The concept of quiet quitting has likely been around for some time, even if it wasn’t known by this specific term,” he said.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has seen work dynamics evolve, which may be contributing to the presence of this quiet quitting.
“The rise of working from home and remote working and an emphasis on staff wellbeing and job satisfaction could be influencing employees’ motivations when they’re at work.
“But quiet quitting can also indicate a general lack of engagement between a business and its employees, which can affect both parties.”
With 22 per cent of businesses confirming they have noticed quiet quitting taking place, Astwick said it’s important all employers aim to create a supportive workplace culture.
“Employees are an organisation’s most valuable asset, so it’s really important to foster their wellbeing, engagement and growth.”
The Southern Cross Health Insurance – BusinessNZ Workplace Wellness Survey is designed to help employers improve the health and wellbeing of their people. It benchmarks absence levels and identifies ways to increase attendance, and also provides policy makers with data on occupational health practice and workplace absence.
Key findings
Absence:the highest rate ever at 5.5 days per employee, equivalent to nearly 10 million working days
•Covid-19 continues to influence absence results, although it may not be the only influence for the 2022 findings, given a key change in sickness entitlements introduced in 2021.
•The average rate of absence in 2022 was the highest ever at 5.5 days per employee. This compares with a range of 4.2 to 4.7 days for 2012-2020.
•The average number of days off for manual workers (7.1 days) and non-manual workers (4.6 days) were the highest recorded for the survey. Also, the difference in average number of days off between manual and non-manual workers widened to its highest at 2.5 days.
•When projected across the entire New Zealand workforce, the sharp increase in average days lost per employee and the ongoing lift in total number of employers combined meant the time lost due to absence in 2022 was close to 10 million working days. This was significantly up from 7.3 million in 2020 and 7.4 million in 2018.
•Although turnover of permanent staff was at its lowest since the survey began, the largest share of employers believed their level of turnover was higher than they would like. This is perhaps due to the current challenging labour market conditions for finding replacement staff.
Costs, drivers, and factors around absence: annual cost now stands at $1,235 amounting to $2.86 billion
•Due to a number of factors including cost price pressures and labour shortages, the cost to an employer for a typical employee’s absence in annual terms now stands at $1,235.
•The direct costs of absence amounted to $2.86 billion across the economy in 2022, up from $1.85 billion in 2020. This was symptomatic of increased absence rates and rising costs of labour.
•Non work-related illness (including Covid-19) remains the most common cause of absence, followed by ‘caring for an unwell family member or dependent.
Working from home: more than half of all organisations now offer working from home, usually 1 –2 days per week
•Working from home is now a standard feature of the working environment in organisations where it is a possibility, with more than half of organisations allowing more people to do so since 2021.
•One to two days per week continues to be the most common option for working from home, although three to four days is showing increased use. However, many small enterprises are simply unable to offer working from home.
•While enterprises believe working from home has been a positive move, employee feelings of isolation and a reduction in collaborative activities are still evident.
The full report can be found here.
