'What is it about the current moment that’s driving so many younger Kiwis abroad? The cost of living crisis and the recent economic conditions certainly haven’t helped.'
'What is it about the current moment that’s driving so many younger Kiwis abroad? The cost of living crisis and the recent economic conditions certainly haven’t helped.'
Opinion by Sharon Spence
Sharon Spence is a co-founder of career consultancy amp’d, which helps employers create internal career development programmes for staff. She previously held senior HR roles at Fletcher Building, Public Trust and Mercer.
Young Kiwi workers are sending a clear message to employers with their feet, walking out the door and heading for better prospects abroad.
The recent migration stats have laid bare the reality that New Zealand is facing an exodus - and the assumption weoften make is that this is about larger pay cheques. But this misses the bigger picture.
The money has always been better in places such as Australia. Lucrative mining jobs across rural regions have long waved dollar signs and those interested have always had the opportunity to gain a sizable pay bump across the Tasman.
So what is it about the current moment that’s driving so many younger Kiwis abroad?
The cost of living crisis and the recent economic conditions certainly haven’t helped, but the biggest insight might be in the more granular details of the numbers.
Young people aged 18 to 30 made up 38% of the 72,000 departures we saw in 2024. The age with the highest loss of citizens was 25, but there was a worrying uptick across every age group, and the 30-39 age group has been steadily increasing since 2018 (excluding the years of Covid lockdown). The concern with this group is that these are our trained professionals, who are likely not doing an OE and, therefore, less likely to return any time soon.
This has never been about money alone. The reality is more unsettling: our brightest talent is leaving for growth, opportunity, and purpose, all key factors that drive high engagement – and things they feel they aren’t finding at home.
A couple of years ago, Gartner found it takes a 20% pay bump to extract a highly-engaged employee, versus a 0% change for a disengaged employee.
Indeed, a growing body of research shows that Gen Z and millennials are far more likely to change jobs over the course of their careers than earlier generations.
Some studies now suggest that younger workers could have as many as 15 to 17 different jobs over the course of their careers. That’s almost a new job every two and a half years.
'Young people aged 18 to 30 made up 38% of the 72,000 departures we saw in 2024.'
If local employers are expecting automatic long service, then those hopes are misplaced at best.
What’s most striking about these studies into the workforce is that most of this movement among employees isn’t inspired by a higher salary but rather by the prospect of learning new skills or career development.
Research we recently commissioned at amp’d showed that only 25% of New Zealand workers are clear about their next career step, and a paltry 18% feel fully supported by their managers to advance their careers.
Our research further found that one in five Kiwis see taking on a new role as the most significant driver of their career growth. If organisations don’t provide clear development opportunities, employees will look elsewhere – even if that means looking abroad.
Many organisations have been shedding people and freezing headcounts in response to the tough economy. The flow-on impact on remaining employees tends to be more work spread among fewer people, and a tight budget for spending on development. This can feel bleak for those left to carry the load, driving disengagement and a building desire to look elsewhere.
Our research found a widely-held view among managers and senior leaders that developing people is perceived as hard and expensive, when in reality, there are numerous examples of leaders out there who don’t adhere to that view and believe that coaching for development is a hugely effective driver of engagement. This doesn’t necessarily come at a significant cost to the business.
There is a strong argument for focusing development over the post-restructure period to help talent see and feel a positive future for themselves.
The challenge with disengaged workers is that they seldom openly express their sense of disaffection. It’s revealed in behaviours that develop insidiously where employees do just enough to fly beneath the radar but limit their discretionary effort. The result is the slow erosion of productivity.
Some employers might say good riddance to the disengaged staffer, but if four in 10 Kiwis currently feel a lack of direction and we are not paying attention to that, organisations risk losing significant numbers of workers to better opportunities when the economy brightens.
Keeping our talented workers is about more than just good pay.
It’s about giving them an opportunity to grow their skills here in Aotearoa, where our local economy stands to benefit.
