The majority of New Zealand employers (56%) and employees (59%) have felt stressed about Covid-19 in the past six months, with Kiwis under the age of 25 reporting the highest stress levels (73%), a new report has revealed.

Australian respondents echoed these findings, while respondents in the UK and Malaysia reported higher stress levels, peaking in Singapore with 61% of employers and 71% of employees reportedly feeling stressed in the past six months. The survey of 5,715 people was conducted by Employment Hero during the first quarter of 2021 and included 502 employees and 508 employers in New Zealand.

Physical, financial and mental wellbeing were the top three concerns noted, with 61%, 59% and 51% of employees, respectively, reporting feeling worried about these elements of their life. The majority of employers in Aotearoa said they believed they were supportive of employees’ mental health (69%) and were equipped with adequate tools and processes to measure employee wellness (60%), while only half said that workplaces should bear the burden of employees’ mental health problems. Conversely, 80% of employees said that workplaces should bear the burden of their mental health problems, highlighting the discrepancy in where the responsibility for employees’ wellbeing lies.

When asked about mental health initiatives in the workplace, 34% of New Zealand employees said they want employers to promote a healthy work-life balance, 17% wanted health and wellness benefits, while another 17% wanted counselling services available in the workplace.