An Auckland healthcare worker who "quiet quit" her job early in the Covid-19 pandemic said she has noticed a change in her mental health.
Alice*, a midwifery clinical leader, said she started to "quiet quit" about six months into the pandemic.
"I don't do anything extra. I just can't doit anymore," she said.
"Quiet quitting" has become somewhat of a buzz term - albeit not a new idea - as workers look for a better work-life balance by quitting the idea of going above and beyond in their jobs.
This withdrawal of discretionary effort is often driven by the feeling of being overworked or stressed in the workplace.
The healthcare sector was put under enormous pressure with the onset of Covid in early 2020, with staff on the frontlines enduring long hours - sometimes without taking breaks - amid shortages and rising Covid and flu infections.
And like so many others, Alice said she was just too burnt out.
"I could not manage the stress of working on the antenatal/postnatal wards, continually being understaffed," Alice said.
"The dissatisfaction of knowing how I should work was marred by the huge caseloads we had to carry.
"New graduate staff midwives would be orientated and given further education only to leave as soon as they had gained some confidence and experience to become Lead Maternity Carers; you can manage your workload then by only taking a certain number of women due in each month."
Alice said there is a global shortage of midwives, and until recently the average age of a midwife was around 55-60.
A 2021 Midwifery Workforce Survey put the average age at 47 years old.
"My pay isn't too bad, but the stress of never managing to get everything done, plus additional discomfort of working in PPE and additional Covid cleaning precautions between seeing each patient is simply not sustainable," Alice said.
Alice said it wasn't uncommon for clinical staff to work far more hours than they are contracted to do.
"They feel guilty if they don't help their colleagues out, as they know the sickening feeling of being grossly understaffed," she said.
"Sometimes double time is offered when it gets to crisis level."
"It has made me feel calmer, in that I am managing my mental and physical wellbeing better," Alice said.
"It feels fairer too. Why should I give my time freely, when I have grandchildren, I want to actively be part of their lives, and hobbies that I'd really like enough time to enjoy?"
A survey from recruitment and workforce solutions company Hays suggests rising unpaid overtime could be a big factor in Kiwis "quiet quitting".
According to Hays' annual Salary Guide 2022-2023 - which surveyed 1222 organisations in New Zealand - only 3.4 per cent of organisations had managed to decrease their employees' level of overtime last financial year.
Employers should look for signals that staff are under pressure. Photo / 123rf
In 39.2 per cent of organisations employees' overtime increased, while remaining the same in 57.4 per cent.
And of the survey's total respondents - more than 4400 including Australian firms - the average weekly amount of overtime was more than 10 per cent of standard hours - which in a 40-hour working week equates to at least four hours extra per week.
In 8 per cent of organisations, the weekly average amount of overtime was more than 21 per cent (above eight hours per week).
Adam Shapley, managing director of Hays in New Zealand, said the rise in overtime could further provoke "quiet quitting".
"Any increase in overtime is a dangerous signal that staff are under pressure. Morale, health, wellbeing and stress-related absenteeism could all be affected," he said.
"This can either lead to rising turnover or, in a new trend, quiet quitting."
The Hays Salary Guide found 24 per cent of those who are currently looking or planning to look for a new job in the next 12 months cite poor work-life balance as a motivating factor.
"Skills shortages reached acute levels in the past year, leading many employers to ask their existing team to work longer hours to cover critical gaps," Shapley said.
"We know that 83 per cent of employers say skills shortages will impact the effective operation of their organisation this financial year. According to employers, the number one impact will be increased workloads for existing staff (nominated by 71 per cent of employers in the Hays Salary Guide)."
