A lack of productivity means Kiwi workplaces are missing out on $30.5 billion of untapped potential, a new survey says.



The Ernst & Young's survey of New Zealand workplace productivity, released today, reveals four in five, or 87 per cent, of workers thought they could be 21 per cent more productive every day, equating to an average of $14,000 a person.



Workers attributed their level of productivity to poor staff management and a lack of motivation and reward and recognition in the workplace.



Ernst & Young advisory partner Braden Dickson said job security and workers' confidence in the jobs market had become a major issue.



Only 23 per cent of the 750 workers surveyed said they felt secure in their current jobs.



New Zealand had made good progress in productivity during the past 18 months, but it had plateaued since August 2012, the results showed.



The survey found the national productivity average had increased from 7.34 to 7.47 based on a ten point scale during the year, plateauing slightly above 7.42 in November 2012.



The back to basics approach of the last year has delivered some good gains but now its returns were diminishing, Dickson said.



And the negative shift in worker sentiment had created a growing divide between productive and unproductive workers.



Only 9 per cent of the least productive workers felt secure, compared with 28 per cent of the "super achievers", the survey said. Workers often associated productivity with job cuts, he said.



The least productive workers were typically casual employees, aged between 20 and 24, Dickson said. Junior employees were disengaged and wasting approximately one-and-a-half hours a day more than productive workers, up from one hour six months ago.



The survey was the third New Zealand productivity survey released by Ernst & Young.



The figures:



* 87 per cent of workers thought they could be significantly more productive



* A quarter of workers blame their lack of productivity on restructuring



* Only 22 per cent of companies actively tried to improve productivity



* Only 13 per cent of companies align productivity goals to individual workers



*More than 70 per cent of workers were unsure of the government's impact on productivity



* One in five workers felt the government was holding back productivity in their business.