Survey: Ownership will feature in the future Kiwi pay packet Survey: Ownership will feature in the future Kiwi pay packet

Building wealth through work is changing. While a salary used to be the standard, the ongoing cost-of-living crunch has New Zealanders looking for smarter, more sustainable ways to secure their financial futures.

New Zealanders are ready for a stake in the business

A striking 80% of New Zealand employees surveyed say they would welcome the opportunity of ownership, considering taking at least some of their pay in shares if the option was available. This isn’t just theoretical interest; half of Kiwi workers (50%) state they are more open to gaining equity in their workplace through employee share schemes than they were five years ago. This points to a growing appetite for ownership, not just income, as part of how New Zealanders build wealth.

Susannah Batley, General Manager of Sharesies Business, said: “We are seeing a shift in how New Zealanders view their compensation. Employees are signaling a real appetite for equity, with a clear majority eager to have a stake in the business. There is a fundamental desire to build meaningful, long-term wealth through the very companies they are helping to grow.”

Gen Z is leading the shift

The research reveals a fascinating generational trend: younger employees are already more engaged in employee ownership than their seniors. In fact, 18% of Gen Z employees who received a pay increase or bonus in the last 12 months gained shares for their efforts. This outpaces Millennials at 7% and Gen X/Baby Boomers at just 3%.* The generational difference extends to familiarity too, with 48% of Gen Z saying they are familiar with employee share schemes, compared to 29% of Millennials and 33% of Gen X/Baby Boomers.

Salary alone isn’t cutting it anymore

The traditional salary is being stretched to its limits. Only one in six (18%) Kiwi employees say their current pay meets their needs today and helps them build future wealth. Meanwhile, 56% explicitly state their take-home pay isn't enough to build long-term wealth, and 82% feel that given the current cost of living, generating future wealth is simply unattainable on salary alone.

This has split employee priorities right down the middle. 47% of Kiwis say that a holistic remuneration package that helps them build long-term wealth (for example, shares or company equity) is what matters most. Meanwhile, an equal 47% say access to short-term cash is their top priority.

“New Zealanders are taking a step back and looking at their long-term financial picture," Batley notes. "For many, their pay has been stretched to meet fixed household costs over the past five years or so, leaving less for people to invest, and that’s corresponding with a change in attitudes towards the traditional pay packet.”

A win-win for Kiwi employees and employers

With a strong appetite but a gap in understanding, the research highlights a massive opportunity for New Zealand workplaces to innovate.

"Internationally, employee ownership has been associated with stronger engagement, better retention, and a culture where people feel more connected to the success of the business," says Batley. "At a time when New Zealand employers are competing for skilled people internationally, ownership can become another way of attracting and retaining talent."

"If more New Zealanders have the opportunity to share in the value they help create, that's not only positive for individual wealth—it has the potential to support a more productive economy. Businesses benefit from a workforce with a stronger stake in success, while employees have another pathway to build long-term financial security."

Survey methodology

Sharesies commissioned YouGov to survey New Zealand employees.

• The sample consisted of a nationally representative sample of 506 New Zealand workers (excluding Sole Traders) aged 18 years and older.

• *These figures based on the sub-sample of those who have received a bonus or pay increase (n=407)

• Following the completion of interviewing, the data was weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the latest population estimates.

• Significant differences have been reported at the 95% confidence interval.

• This study has been carried out in accordance with the ISO 20252:2019 standards, to which YouGov is accredited.