Research New Zealand, a privately owned social and business research organisation, found there were almost double the number of older respondents - aged 55 and above - unhappy with the decision compared to younger respondents - those aged 18 to 34.
Last week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the end of vaccine mandates for education, police and Defence Force workers from 11.59pm tomorrow.
They would still be required in health and aged care, Corrections and border workforces.
Ardern's announcement included the scrapping of vaccine passes and an increase to the number of people able to gather indoors from 100 to 200.
Research New Zealand surveyed 1001 Kiwis following the March 23 announcement on vaccine mandates, using a five-point "happiness" scale that ranged from very happy, happy, neutral, unhappy to very unhappy.
The largest proportion of respondents were neutral at 36 percent. The same percent were either happy or very happy, while 27 percent were either unhappy or very unhappy.
Broken down by age, researchers found 36 percent of people 55 and older were unhappy/very unhappy about removing mandates, while just 20 percent of people 18-34 felt the same.
Conversely, 44 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds were happy/very happy with the decision. Only 28 percent of people 55 and older held a similar position.
It was a shift from an earlier Research New Zealand poll, completed in mid-February, that found 18 to 34-year-olds were in fact more likely than older people to change their social behaviours in response to the Omicron wave.
Respondents to the March poll were also presented with a list of seven possible positive and negative reasons to explain their view.
Of those in favour, 63 percent liked the move as it represented a return to normal life.
Fifty-six percent thought the change would be good for the economy as businesses had suffered due to the mandates.
Of those not in favour, 76 percent of people said they would have preferred to see the mandates continue until Covid case numbers were lower.
On March 23 when Ardern made her announcement, New Zealand had reported 20,087 new daily community cases, 960 hospitalisations and 11 deaths.
Yesterday, 11,593 new community cases were reported, (updated from the initially reported 11,560 cases), alongside 678 hospitalisations. The 23 reported deaths included people who had died over the past five days.
Sixty-eight percent of respondents were worried less mandates would mean vulnerable people - the elderly and children - would be more at risk of catching Omicron.
The poll didn't perform an extensive analysis by region, but did find Auckland respondents were significantly less likely to state they were "very happy" with the lifting of the mandates than respondents in other regions - 13 percent and 20 percent respectively.
Research New Zealand managing partner Emanuel Kalafatelis found it interesting younger people were more positive about the decision in light of the February poll.
"It was not that long ago that we were identifying this group as the group who were pulling back on going out and curtailing other behaviours because they were concerned with the impending Omicron wave," he said.
Nevertheless, Kalafatelis said the poll indicated there was clear division across the country on the issue.
"Overall, the jury is still out about the lifting of the mandates and only time will tell whether this has been a good or bad move."
