They were revealed to a room full of HR managers late last month.
"This is a real wake-up call for organisations," declared Kari Scrimshaw, principal consultant, Right Management NZ, who presented the results. "We aren't going to be able to effect a recovery unless we can harness the power of our people."
The general engagement results showed that just 36 per cent of respondents felt engaged by both their job and their organisation, while a whopping 46 per cent felt "disconnected" from both.
The "benchwarmers" - those engaged with their organisation but not their job - made up 6 per cent, while the "free agents" - engaged with their work but not their company - made up 12 per cent of respondents.
The differences between engagement levels between senior managers and staff with no responsibilities - dubbed "leaders" and "doers" respectively - was especially apparent.
The 2009 survey found 45 per cent of leaders were engaged, while 40 per cent of doers were engaged.
This year that 5 per cent gap has widened to 25 per cent, with 57 per cent of leaders engaged and only 32 per cent of doers effectively participating in their work.
Seemingly confirming what many in the lower ranks of organisations traditionally, instinctively know, the survey showed New Zealand managers may overestimate their leadership abilities. The discrepancy between how managers see themselves leading by example, and what sort of example those in their charge think they are setting, showed a huge 18 per cent differential.
The question "my organisation promotes employees who deserve it" showed a similar perception gap between management and those without such responsibilities.
A similar gap was opening between senior management and middle management levels.
Positive results, although rare, were not entirely absent from the survey - New Zealand employers are are more likely to promote health and well-being, for example, up seven per cent from 2009 findings.
It seems career management is suffering in more austere times, with 68 per cent of those surveyed saying their manager never discussed their career path with them. Says Scrimshaw: "It's not enough to talk to staff about their current job, but conversations must have a broader career scope."
A definite gap between public and private sector organisations was evident in the survey, with private sector organisations outperforming the public sector in every way in terms of engaging their employees.
The survey also highlighted some disturbing trends in retention, with 30 per cent of employees hired within the last two years intending to leave the organisation. The worst industries in this regard were hospitality, retail, IT and regional or local government. "Leaders must improve retention by building engagement, through being visible, transparent and rebuilding that trust," said Scrimshaw.
Despite rising unemployment, the talent shortage persists, with 48 per cent of employers reporting difficulty filling jobs in New Zealand because of a lack of qualified candidates.
The hardest jobs to fill in New Zealand are currently engineers, sales reps, skilled tradespeople and IT staff. Shortages also persist in accounts and finance, and middle and upper management.
According to Right Management findings, New Zealand is tied with India in being the sixth most difficult country in the world to find talent.
Scrimshaw says our changing demographics are going to present some challenges, with an outsized proportion of older workers.
At present, New Zealand has almost double the proportion of older workers as Australia, and by 2051, the report estimates, 10 per cent of the workforce will be over 65.
Yet the country seems to be failing older workers badly, with high levels of disengagement showing up in the survey. Since 2009, among baby boomers there has been a 13 per cent decline in job engagement, and a staggering 30 per cent decline in organisational engagement.
The decline in Generation X workers' overall engagement was a 5 per cent drop since 2009, while Generation Y showed just a 2 per cent drop in overall engagement.
Scrimshaw says managers hold the key to engagement, but must be aware of different key drivers for different generations and stages of work life. "Boomers are more likely to appreciate flexible working hours, commitment to careers and ownership of work, while Gen X'ers like teamwork, cross-functional systems and leaders who value employees. Generation Y employees love communication - of all types, effective performance management and a good balance between work and personal interests."
She says it is also vital for employers and managers to get creative with retention strategies and to find out what employees want from their organisation. "It's important that your people strategies and initiatives position you to leverage the changing workplace demographics."
