Re-evaluating working attitudes in a post COVID-19 world

Research led by Professor Jarrod Haar, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Mahuta, Associate Professor David Brougham and the University of Otago’s Dr Azka Ghafoor endeavoured to explore changing attitudes towards work following the pandemic.

The study involved 1020 employees across a range of careers and industries to investigate if workers were re-evaluating their relationship to their job and what caused this shift.

Over 50 per cent of workers stated they had re-evaluated work, with only 33.5 per cent saying they had not and 12.5 per cent responding that they were neutral on the idea.

Of those who reported re-evaluation, the biggest change reported by 53.9 per cent of respondents was a shift of focus towards spending more time with friends and family. This was followed by 53 per cent reporting they had re-evaluated many aspects of their life, including work, with 44 per cent stating the pandemic made them realise they gave too much time and energy to work. A further 32.3 per cent said they no longer felt work was as important as it was pre-pandemic.

Most notably in the results was how often friends and family were cited as a reason for a re-evaluation of work. Professor Haar says this is understandable given the isolation many experienced.

“The events of COVID-19 left a third of the respondents finding work less important than before, with almost half acknowledging they gave too much of their time and energy to work. The pandemic appears to have shifted these perspectives, particularly when relating to loved ones. This is likely due to the lockdown periods reminding workers of the little things – particularly the social connections and friendships – that we might otherwise take for granted.”

During this research, the team investigated the cause behind the change in attitude and found a series of trends within the results. People experiencing loneliness were nearly five times more likely to re-evaluate their work, possibly to seek out better relationships and have more time for others. Other indicators included working in a highly competitive organisation, making employees 5.4 times more likely to re-evaluate, while those experiencing conflict between their work and family roles being 8.7 times more likely to consider making changes.

Professor Haar says these trends indicate personal and work context play a driving role in this change.

“Aligned with the great resignation, those positively seeking such a re-evaluation of work are 4.8 times more likely to be seriously considering quitting their job, which reflects their current workplace providing incentive. Interestingly, the results show higher income earners are significantly more likely to re-evaluate their work, which suggests a certain level of income enables people the freedom to make changes more easily.”

Age was also shown to have some influence, with the youngest and oldest respondents being the least likely to re-evaluate, while those in the age groups 31-35, 36-40 and 41-45 being the most likely.

“These outcomes can infer that younger workers don’t have the experience to draw on to seek something different, while older works have enough experience to know they are less likely to want to change,” Professor Haar says.

The results showed that of those re-evaluating their work, male employees are more likely to be affected, alongside managers over employees. Workers with higher education were more likely to be affected, while not-for-profit workers were found to be less likely to re-evaluate their work compared to private and public sector workers.