Key insights
- In Stuff’s 2026 Wealth of the Nation survey, the most common pay increase New Zealanders would need to take a job they strongly disliked was 26% to 50%.
- Refusal falls sharply with age, from 62% of New Zealanders aged 65 and over to 13.8% of those aged 35 to 44.
- Great Place To Work data shows 62.9% of employees at New Zealand’s Best Workplaces™ feel they receive a fair share of profits, compared with 32.1% at a typical New Zealand workplace.
Every resignation letter contains a hidden calculation. Somewhere between the commute, the manager and the Sunday-night dreadzone, an employee has worked out what it would cost to keep doing a job they dislike, and concluded their employer will never pay it.
This year Stuff.co.nz put a number on that calculation. Its inaugural Wealth of the Nation survey asked a nationally representative panel of New Zealanders aged 18 and over how much of a pay increase they would need to take a job they strongly disliked. The timing sharpens the answers. Stuff found 39% of Kiwis feel worse off financially than a year ago, with wages growing around 2% against inflation of 4.1%.
Most New Zealanders turn out to have a price. It is rarely small, and it moves sharply with age and gender. Set beside Great Place To Work New Zealand’s own employee data, the results point people leaders towards a cheaper fix than the pay rise: making the job worth staying in.
What pay increase would New Zealanders need to take a job they strongly disliked?
The most common answer in Stuff’s Wealth of the Nation survey is a rise of 26% to 50%, chosen by 20.1% of respondents. Another 16.3% would need 51% to 100% more, 8.7% would want their pay more than doubled, and 30.7% would not take a job they strongly disliked for any amount.
| Pay increase needed | All respondents |
|---|---|
| Would not take it for more money | 30.7% |
| Up to 10% more | 6.0% |
| 11% to 25% more | 11.6% |
| 26% to 50% more | 20.1% |
| 51% to 100% more | 16.3% |
| More than 100% more | 8.7% |
| Prefer not to say | 6.5% |
Source: Stuff, Wealth of the Nation survey 2026. New Zealanders aged 18 and over.
Add the price bands together and 62.7% of New Zealanders would accept a job they dislike at some price. Only 17.6% would do it for 25% or less, roughly the territory of a generous promotion. A standard annual increase barely moves anyone: just 6% would accept a rise of up to 10%.
How does the answer change with age?
Refusal drops steadily with each younger age group. In Stuff’s survey, 62% of New Zealanders aged 65 and over would not take a job they strongly disliked for more money, falling to 44.8% of 55 to 64 year olds, 25.8% of 45 to 54 year olds and 13.8% of 35 to 44 year olds.
| Age group | Would not take it at any price | Would need more than 50% extra |
|---|---|---|
| 65 and over | 62.0% | 11.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 44.8% | 18.6% |
| 45 to 54 | 25.8% | 25.5% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.8% | 36.3% |
Source: Stuff, Wealth of the Nation survey 2026. “More than 50% extra” combines the 51% to 100% and more than 100% bands.
The 35 to 44 group is the most willing to trade and the most expensive to buy. More than a third (36.3%) would need a rise of more than 50%, and 24.3% named 51% to 100%. Mid-career staff are often the backbone of a team, and their price for tolerating a bad job is the steepest in the data.
READ ALSO: The State of Workplace Culture in New Zealand 2026
Some of the older group’s resolve may reflect circumstance, since people nearing or past retirement have less reason to chase a pay jump. The pattern still tells leaders which part of their workforce is most likely to be weighing up an offer.
Do women and men answer differently?
Yes. In Stuff’s survey, 33.5% of women would refuse a job they strongly disliked at any price, compared with 28.3% of men. Women who would consider it also set a higher bar, with 27% needing more than 50% extra against 23.4% of men.
Would not take a job they strongly disliked for more money
Men
Women
Women were 5.2 percentage points more likely than men to refuse a disliked job at any price.
That result runs against the financial picture. Stuff found 44% of women feel worse off than a year ago, against 34% of men, and one in four women has no emergency savings at all, compared with 15% of men. Women are carrying more financial strain and remain less willing to sell their working hours to a job they dislike. Any leader banking on money pressure to keep people in unhappy roles is misreading half the workforce.
What makes a job worth staying in?
Fairness, shared success and balance separate New Zealand’s best workplaces from the rest. Great Place To Work data shows 71.2% of employees at the Best Workplaces in New Zealand say people are paid fairly for the work they do, compared with 65.8% across all Great Place To Work Certified™ organisations and 55.5% at a typical New Zealand workplace.
On profit sharing, 62.9% of Best Workplaces employees feel they receive a fair share of the profits their organisation makes, against 55.3% at Certified organisations and 32.1% at a typical New Zealand workplace. On balance, 86.9% of Best Workplaces employees say they are encouraged to balance their work and personal lives, compared with 77.3% at Certified organisations and 57.6% at a typical workplace.
| Survey statement | Best Workplaces | All Certified | Typical NZ workplace | Gap, best vs typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People here are paid fairly for the work they do | 71.2% | 65.8% | 55.5% | 15.7 points |
| I feel I receive a fair share of the profits made by this organisation | 62.9% | 55.3% | 32.1% | 30.8 points |
| People are encouraged to balance their work life and their personal life | 86.9% | 77.3% | 57.6% | 29.3 points |
Source: Great Place To Work New Zealand benchmark data.
The fair pay statement shows the narrowest gap of the three, at 15.7 points. The widest open up on profit share (30.8 points) and balance (29.3 points). Whether people feel the overall deal is fair, and whether it leaves room for a life, is where the best workplaces build their biggest lead.
The two datasets measure different things and different people. Read together, they suggest every point of fairness built into the employment deal lowers the premium an employer would otherwise need to pay to keep people in their seats.
What should people leaders do with this?
Work out what your people dislike before a competitor puts a price on it. With wages rising around 2%, few employers can outbid a 26% to 50% premium, so the practical lever is the job itself.
Ask what people dislike, by cohort
Break survey results out by age and gender. Mid-career staff set the highest price, and women are the most likely to walk away.
Make pay decisions explainable
Perceived fairness separates the best workplaces from a typical one by 15.7 points. Explain how pay is set and reviewed.
Share the upside visibly
Profit share shows the widest gap in the data. Tie bonuses, recognition and celebrations clearly to the results people helped deliver.
Treat balance as a retention budget
Protected leave, reasonable hours and managers who model logging off cost far less than a counter-offer.
Frequently asked questions
Who ran the Wealth of the Nation survey?
Stuff ran its inaugural Wealth of the Nation survey with a nationally representative panel of 1,500 New Zealanders aged 18 and over, between 30 April and 29 May 2026.
What pay rise would most New Zealanders need to take a job they disliked?
The most common answer was 26% to 50% more, chosen by 20.1% of respondents. Overall, 62.7% named some price and 30.7% said no amount would be enough.
Which age group is least willing to take a disliked job for money?
New Zealanders aged 65 and over, 62% of whom would refuse at any price. Among 35 to 44 year olds, only 13.8% would refuse.
How can an organisation measure whether employees feel fairly paid?
Great Place To Work’s employee survey asks employees directly whether they are paid fairly and receive a fair share of profits, and benchmarks results against New Zealand’s best workplaces. Find out more at Great Place To Work New Zealand.
Stuff’s data puts the price of a disliked job well above 25%, in a year when wages are rising around 2%. No pay review will close that gap. Fairness, a visible share of the upside and time to recover can stop the job becoming one people dislike in the first place.
