47% of kiwi workers intend to ask for a pay increase to cover the rising cost of living

New data from ELMO's Employee Sentiment Survey has been released

47% of kiwi workers intend to ask for a pay increase to cover the rising cost of living

As the price of nearly everything increases, two out of five New Zealand workers said they struggle to cover basic living costs and almost half (47%) of employees intend to ask their employer for a pay increase.

The survey also revealed an increase in sick days, mental health days and compassionate leave over the quarter. Feelings of being overwhelmed with the amount of work or taking on more responsibility and feeling burn out also increased this quarter.

The data comes from software company ELMOs Q2 Employee Sentiment Index report, a survey of 524 Kiwi workers across New Zealand.

ELMO CEO, Danny Lessem believes executives who have taken note of the severe talent shortage in the market and implemented tailored strategies to reward and recognise top talent will reap the benefits over the coming months.

Most New Zealand businesses have worked hard to get their staff back into the office over the previous few months, but leaders may want to rethink that stance to alleviate the sky-rocketing price of petrol for their employees and reduce illness in their workforce.

“What we are seeing in the Q2 ELMO Employee Sentiment Index is the macroeconomic factors, in addition to the social, political, and environmental issues impacting New Zealand and the world, are causing a shift in employee priorities,” said Danny Lessem, CEO of ELMO Software. “The overwhelming feeling of uncertainty is prompting workers to search for more, or fairer pay.”

“The focus for business leaders in the second half of 2022 needs to be on empowering managers to understand the individual personal and professional drivers of their teams,” said Lessem.

“It’s a key time for implementing strategy to maintain engagement while driving a continuous commitment to high performance, collaboration and celebrating successes in a hybrid, health-conscious world.”