New Zealanders tend to have the attitude of “getting in and getting the job done”. That means working hard and sometimes long hours to do it. But we value our leisure time too, and most people have sport, family activities and community involvements that are very important to them.
These are some trends in our working culture:
- More women are in paid work, there are more dual income families, more sole parents in the workforce.
- More of the workforce is likely to be involved in caring for elderly relatives because our population is ageing.
- More workers are putting in long hours at their jobs.
- More mobile phones and personal computers is making it easy for work to ‘spill over’ into personal time.
- More people are working outside normal business hours because of the type of work they do.
But
- More employers and workers are concerned about managing work and home life and are finding ways to improve the balance.
Quality of life is a big attraction for prospective migrants. Many people want an interesting job, a pleasant work environment, and an attractive salary. A well balanced life with the flexibility to do the other things we care about, is important too. And that’s something that most migrants find New Zealand can offer.
Flexible work arrangements, part-time work, job sharing, home-based work and paid parental leave are all things that help achieve a balance between our work and personal lives.
And that’s something we’re striving to ensure is possible for everyone.
EEO (Equal Employment Opportunities)
Many New Zealand employers know that sometimes the ‘typical’ worker isn’t the best person for the job. They know their success depends on:
- getting the best person for the job
- ensuring that all employees achieve their own potential.
New Zealand employment law prohibits discrimination in the work place. EEO means making sure that nobody is discriminated against when they apply for a job. People with disabilities, women with young children, lesbians and gay men, people from different ethnic groups, older people – everybody should be treated equally to find the best person for the job.
And EEO means that every employee has the chance to do their job to the best of their ability. It’s all about recognizing and valuing diversity.
More than 300 New Zealand employers belong to the EEO Employers Group. These employers are more likely to offer flexibility in working conditions. They understand that diversity is a strength.
These sorts of approaches aim to both change working culture and make Kiwi business more innovative.
Family balance
Combining paid work with raising a family isn’t easy. It often leads to conflicting commitments. But we’re trying to make it easier for people to do both successfully. It’s positive for both employers and employees if family and work life can be balanced effectively.
We have provisions for paid parental leave and many employees return to work part-time while their children are young. The increasing number of part-time jobs makes this easier than in the past. Some employers have childcare facilities available and others run special programmes in the holidays for school-age children.
Of course it’s not only children who need to be cared for. We have an increasing number of elderly people in our society and they need care too. It’s becoming quite common to have flexible working hours and allow people to do some work from home.