Auckland workers care most about pay

Right Management's Salary Expectations Survey found 42 per cent of Auckland workers would look for a new job this year if not given a pay rise. Photo / File photo

Aucklanders are more concerned about their salaries than other New Zealanders, according to a survey that goes some way in confirming commonly held stereotypes.

Right Management's Salary Expectations Survey found 42 per cent of Auckland workers would look for a new job this year if not given a pay rise, compared with just 26 per cent across the rest of the country.

And while other Kiwis rated a "work-life balance" well ahead of other factors when deciding whether to change or stay in employment, employees in New Zealand's biggest city tended to choose pay.

The results come from additional analysis of the survey, which was initially released late last year.

Murray McLachlan, of human resources consultancy firm Right Management, said the findings did not necessarily suggest Aucklanders were more materialistic than other Kiwis.

"The rest of the country might like to think so, but I think it's a bit more pragmatic than that," McLachlan said.

He said it was more likely the results reflected the high cost of living in Auckland, and were a warning to the city's employers to make sure their workers were being fairly remunerated.

Providing employees with career development was also an important factor in keeping them happy, McLachlan said, which would be particularly important in 2011 as the labour market opened up more.

John McGill, managing director of remuneration and performance consultants Strategic Pay, said upgrading a job title was one way of keeping a worker engaged.

"You put the word 'manager' on someone's job and you might suddenly have a happy camper," McGill said.

"But if you take the word 'manager' [away] a lot of people get very upset about things like that."

The survey also found only 25 per cent of baby boomers considered salary a key motivator when changing jobs, compared with 51 per cent of younger workers.

McGill said older workers changed jobs less often, and were generally more loyal to their employers.

"They may be stuck with a level of seniority-based pay or they might be stuck in some kind of superannuation scheme or quite frankly they can't be bothered [changing]," he said.

Another finding of the research was that 71 per cent of men expected a pay rise this year, compared with only 67 per cent of woman.

However, it found more woman were actually getting the salary increases they were after - 64 per cent compared with 58 per cent of men.

McLachlan said employers were beginning to put right historical gender inequality in salary levels.

The Right Management survey canvassed 510 New Zealanders from a range of industries.