The number of people feeling stressed due to job insecurity is on the rise, the survey showed. Photo: RNZ
Employers are checking in with staff about their mental health as a growing number report feeling more concerned about job security.
The nib Insurance and the Employers and Manufacturers Association's workplace wellbeing survey showed 44 percent of respondents were worried about their job security, up from 33 percent in 2022.
It found two thirds were anxious about money and more than a third had been affected by business restructuring given the tough economic times.
EMA head of advocacy Alan McDonald said since the pandemic employers had become more aware of the mental and physical stresses in the workplace.
"You see a growing number of employers looking at things like flexible work, EAP mental wellbeing assistance, and just checking in more regularly with their staff whether that's personally or a lot of bigger firms are using pulse surveys and things like that.
"It's really just keeping a better eye and a better check on the mental wellbeing of their teams, as well as looking after their own mental wellbeing because a lot of the business owners themselves are under extreme pressure."
The EMA is receiving more than 100 inquiries a month from businesses needing assistance with restructuring and redundancies.
McDonald said numbers had been that high since September 2023 - peaking at 165 - compared to a dozen calls a month in a normal year.
He said there was a well-established process businesses should follow when a restructure took place to be transparent with staff.
"You get people going well, 'that's a pre-determined outcome'. It can't be and it often isn't. You do come across cases where an employer might be looking at taking what is fairly last resort action and actually when they work with their teams you get some change in the numbers or some change in the job structure so that the numbers might be fewer or they just change the workflow and they're able to manage things that way. It's a genuine process but it has to be done right."
The EMA had lawyers and consultants that help members go through the restructuring process fairly, McDonald said.
He said he knew some smaller businesses were laying off up to 50 percent of staff to cope with the economic slowdown.
