In 2026, wellbeing isn’t a perk, a programme, or a poster on the wall... it’s a performance strategy.

As AI accelerates and economic pressure intensifies, the organisations that win will be the ones that protect human capacity as fiercely as they innovate.

NZ data reveals a workforce under significant strain, but it also signals a clear opening for organisations to reimagine the conditions that help people perform at their best. Below, we unpack the shifts reshaping work and why wellbeing now underpins organisational resilience and long‑term competitiveness.

What’s Shifting?

Burnout Has Reached Critical Levels

Burnout in NZ has moved from a concern to a crisis. 63% of NZ employees reported feeling somewhat or extremely burnt out in 2025¹. This is an extraordinary figure that far outpaces global averages. Daily experiences of stress (41%) and anxiety (37%)¹ underscore that employees are not just struggling periodically... they are functioning in sustained overload.

The depth of burnout reveals that traditional “self-care” solutions are no longer fit for purpose. Workload expectations, organisational pace, restructuring, and digital overload are all creating conditions where individuals cannot simply bounce back without system-level change.

Mental Health Risks Are Directly Affecting Output

Wellbeing concerns are not just personal, they’re directly affecting productivity. More than one-third of NZ workers remain at high mental health risk, even as organisations increase their wellbeing offerings². 33% say their mental health negatively impacts their productivity at work² - a direct cost to organisational performance.

Younger workers, including Gen Z and Millennials, report the highest psychological strain. This highlights not only generational differences in expectations but also that younger talent will choose employers who prioritise psychological safety, transparent communication, and meaningful support.

Job Insecurity Is Amplifying Burnout

Few factors affect employee wellbeing like feeling disposable. Job insecurity skyrocketed from 22% in December 2023 to 48.4% in April 2024³, more than doubling in just four months.

Employees who feel insecure are 14.5 times more likely to experience burnout³.

This sharp rise reflects broader economic headwinds and organisational restructuring across NZ industries. For employers, it means that authentic, frequent communication, even when the news is uncertain, has become a foundational wellbeing strategy.

Some Sectors Are at Breaking Point

Burnout is hitting some parts of the NZ workforce much harder than others, with several functions experiencing unsustainable pressure. Clerical workers (87.9%), educators (86.6%), office managers (70.7%), and health professionals (63.5%) are all reporting extremely high burnout levels³. These roles often sit at the intersection of high workload, emotional labour, administrative complexity, and escalating public expectations. The result is a cycle where capacity declines just as demand increases, raising risks to service quality, workforce stability, and long‑term sector sustainability.

For fields already facing skill shortages, particularly education and healthcare, these burnout levels pose a structural threat that organisations can no longer ignore.

Absenteeism and Ill‑Health Costs Are Rising

Employee ill-health is now a visible line item in organisational budgets. Average absence increased to 6.7 days per employee in 2024, up from 5.5 in 2022⁴. The annual median cost of absence reached $1,319 per employee, contributing to a $4.17 billion national economic burden⁴.

While it is positive that more organisations encourage employees to stay home while unwell, the rising cost signals that reactive approaches aren’t enough. Kiwi employers must invest in proactive wellbeing systems that reduce stressors before they escalate into illness and absence.

Why It’s Business‑Critical

Wellbeing Directly Influences Performance

The performance impact of wellbeing is crystal clear in NZ’s data. 33% of employees report that poor mental health diminishes their productivity², directly eroding capacity and effectiveness across teams. Conversely, high engagement is associated with a 70% uplift in wellbeing, showing how closely these two drivers reinforce one another².

When organisations embed wellbeing into the way work gets done, they unlock more than morale: they gain clearer thinking, improved concentration, reduced error rates, and a measurable lift in performance outcomes.

Retention Risk Is at an All-Time High

Burnout is now one of the strongest predictors of turnover in NZ. Burnt-out workers are 16.5 times more likely to consider leaving their jobs³, meaning even small spikes in burnout can trigger large waves of attrition. 36% of NZ employees say they would choose better wellbeing support over a 10% pay rise².

This shift signals that employers can no longer rely solely on financial compensation to attract and keep talent. People want to work where they feel safe, supported, and valued.

Many Employees Still Don’t Know What Support Exists

Awareness remains a major barrier to effective wellbeing. Only 47% of NZ workers are satisfied with their mental health coverage, and many aren’t even aware whether their employer offers an EAP¹.

This highlights a crucial point: wellbeing programmes only create value when employees know they exist and feel safe using them. Communication, psychological safety, and leadership endorsement are critical.

Leadership Capability Has Become a Central Wellbeing Lever

Leaders are both the amplifiers and protectors of workplace wellbeing, yet they’re struggling too. Just 51% of CEOs feel satisfied with their own health and mental state⁵. Frontline leaders, who shape the day-to-day experience of most employees, report the lowest satisfaction with stress management and career prospects⁵.

When leaders lack support, the impact cascades. Building leader capability in workload design, empathetic communication, and boundary-setting is no longer optional - it’s foundational to cultural health.

Where Leading Organisations Are Investing Now

Through our recent conversations with clients who are at the forefront of organisational performance in NZ and globally, a clear pattern has emerged. These organisations are moving decisively away from programme‑based wellbeing and toward system‑level redesign. Across the board, the same investment areas are showing up as the key differentiators between teams that are thriving and those that are simply coping:

Redesigning Work and Not Relying on EAPs to Fix System Problems

Our clients consistently acknowledge that while EAPs remain valuable for individual support, they cannot resolve the structural drivers of burnout: unsustainable workloads, unclear priorities, reactive workflows, and organisational pace. In response, leading organisations are rethinking how work is designed by:

• Prioritising and sequencing workflows rather than relying on “heroic effort”
• Reducing unnecessary complexity in processes and decision‑making
• Establishing sustainable rhythms that protect recovery time
• Putting guardrails in place for workload and autonomy

Building Leader Capability for Sustainable Performance

Clients tell us that leader capability is now the biggest lever for improving day‑to‑day employee experience. Those investing in leadership development are already seeing measurable shifts in clarity, psychological safety, and retention. Their focus areas include:

• Strengthening emotional intelligence and empathy
• Equipping leaders to recognise early signs of burnout
• Building confidence in boundary‑setting and role clarity
• Improving capacity planning and resource allocation
• Developing skills to maintain stable, healthy team dynamics

Reducing Digital Overload and Noise

Cognitive overload has become one of the most common sources of fatigue raised by our clients. In response, some are redesigning their digital environments to support deep work and reduce unnecessary interruption. They are adopting practices such as:

• Meeting hygiene standards and shorter default meeting durations
• No‑meeting blocks to preserve focus time
• Streamlined communication channels to reduce noise
• Smarter use of AI to cut administrative load and minimise context switching

Using Real‑Time Wellbeing and Capacity Analytics

We are seeing some organisations moving rapidly away from annual surveys in favour of continuous, real‑time insight into team stressors and capacity. These organisations want to see issues early, before they escalate. The analytics they are using focus on:

• Workload intensity
• Psychological safety
• Role clarity
• Team capacity and recovery
• Early indicators of burnout

Treating Wellbeing as Operational Infrastructure - Not a Programme

A major shift we've observed is that wellbeing is being treated as core organisational infrastructure, alongside health & safety, cyber security, and financial governance. Our clients are embedding wellbeing into their systems through:

• Leadership KPIs that include wellbeing and people sustainability
• Integrating psychological risk reviews within HR and safety processes
• Stronger cross‑functional alignment between HR, Legal, and Operations
• Setting clear organisational standards for workload, autonomy, and recovery
• Consistent communication rhythms that reinforce clarity and stability

The Bottom Line: NZ Organisations Are at a Crossroads

People’s wellbeing is now central to how organisations succeed. With burnout climbing and mental health challenges growing more visible, employees are seeking workplaces that support them in meaningful, practical ways.

Organisations that weave wellbeing into leadership, workload design, team culture, and communication will not only see higher performance and retention... they’ll build workplaces where people feel valued and able to do their best work.

References:

1. TELUS Health Barometer 2025 - NZ findings on burnout, stress, anxiety, isolation, satisfaction with mental health coverage. https://www.hcamag.com/nz/specialisation/mental-health/nearly-two-thirds-of-employees-in-new-zealand-experiencing-burnout/555773
2. TELUS Health Mental Health Barometer NZ - 2024/2025 mental health risk, productivity impact, generational findings, engagement/wellbeing link. https://resources.telushealth.com/en/mhi-barometer-nz
3. Massey University wellbeing@work research - burnout doubling by April 2024, job insecurity statistics, sector differences, turnover risk. https://www.massey.ac.nz/about/news/job-insecurity-drives-aotearoa-new-zealand-workforce-to-highest-burnout-risk/
4. Southern Cross / BusinessNZ 2025 Workplace Wellness Report - absence days, cost of absence, national economic burden. https://www.southerncross.co.nz/news/2025/2025-workplace-wellness-report-reveals-major-shifts-in-absence
5. Human Synergistics NZ - Nation’s Wellbeing Report 2025 insights into leadership wellbeing and organisational support. https://www.hsnz.co.nz/resources/the-way-we-work-report-2025/