Get Ready New Zealand, Your Middle Managers Are About to Leave You!
Who Are the Great Resigners?
The Great Resignation was a headline-grabbing phrase that seeded numerous articles and commentary last year. Shane Green and the team at SGEnz wanted to find out more about what is driving departures from New Zealand workplaces: Who exactly are the Kiwi employees wanting to resign, and why?
The top-line findings from our research indicate that employers of middle managers and middle-aged managers at any level may face significant disruption this year.
- 65% of New Zealand middle managers indicated that they are looking or thinking about looking for a new job in 2022, even though the majority (75%) indicated they were satisfied with their current role.
- 67% of managers at all levels in New Zealand younger than 50 indicated they are looking or are ready to look for a new role. A more trusting company and owner, greater flexibility, reduced stress, and better wages and benefits are all indicated reasons your managers could be ready to walk out the door.
Our Research Approach
The first step in our research was to scan reputable sources overseas. We wanted to know if anyone else had closely examined the dynamics of the Great Resignation.
Last September, the Harvard Business Review published a piece by Ian Cook. He analysed more than nine million employee records from more than 4,000 companies across various industries, functions, and levels of experience. He highlighted one significant trend: Resignation rates were highest among mid-career employees aged 30 to 45. Resignations in this age group increased more than 20% between 2020 and 2021.