Four out of every five businesses are not replacing all of their employees who leave, new research suggests.
Recruitment firm Hudson surveyed 1392 employers and 1328 employees in New Zealand.
It found that when an employee left, 67.2% of employers shared the workload among remaining workers, rather than replacing them.
As a result, 77% of employees have taken on more responsibilities and 56.4% are looking for new roles.
Hudson executive general manager Roman Rogers says there is a real risk that employers will lose high performers if they don't reward them properly.
Mr Rogers says nine out of 10 employees reported working more than 40 hours a week.
Figures on wages and salaries are due out on Tuesday.
