Work-life Balance in New Zealand
A snapshot of employee and employer attitudes and experiences
Dr. Lindy Fursman Work-Life Balance Project Department of Labour
[This document is also available to download as a pdf, 49 pages 1 MB]
Disclaimer: The Department of Labour has made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this report is reliable, but makes no guarantee of its accuracy or completeness, and does not accept any liability for any errors. The Department may change the contents of this report at any time without notice.
© Crown copyright 2006
The material is subject to Crown copyright protection and may be reproduced free of charge without requiring specific permission. This is subject to the material being reproduced accurately and not being used in a derogatory or misleading manner. The source must be acknowledged.
Department of Labour PO Box 3705 Wellington New Zealand
www.dol.govt.nz
ISBN 0-478-28056-4
FOREWORD
In recent years, employers, unions, policy makers and researchers have all tried to identify ways that might better assist New Zealanders to balance paid work with the other aspects of their lives such as study, leisure, and caring for others. In 2004, the Work-Life Balance Project team at the Department of Labour conducted a public consultation to explore New Zealander’s views on work-life balance, and to gain a clearer picture of the barriers preventing people from achieving the balance they want. Workers and families told us that the need to earn enough income, the presence of caring responsibilities, and the culture and practices in their workplaces all made it hard to have a balanced life.
In August 2005, I announced a programme of work focused on enhancing workplace cultures and practices. We are now working with a small group of carefully selected workplaces to design and trial solutions to common work-life balance problems faced by New Zealanders. The research described in this report was undertaken to provide a more comprehensive picture of our working arrangements, as a perfect complement to these workplace trials – a nationally representative picture of what our work is like, and what it is about work and other key aspects of our lives that affects work-life balance.
Work-life balance is different for everyone. As this report shows, for some it may mean more work, for others less. There are many organisations who are exploring work-life arrangements, and these employers know that assisting their staff to have a better balance will help their business to increase productivity, address skill shortages and retain staff. Similarly, job satisfaction can increase the quality of home life interactions, a benefit supported by recent research by the Ministry of Social Development.
This publication gives us a nationally representative picture of what is happening in New Zealanders’ working lives that impacts on their ability to achieve work-life balance. It also points to some very simple and effective solutions that are working now and, more importantly, clear strategies that might make a difference. This research will provide us with a starting point so we can measure our progress in future. It provides a baseline for assessing the impact of a range of initiatives the Government has in place to assist employees and employers, such as the introduction in 2007 of a minimum entitlement to four weeks’ paid annual leave. The Government is also working closely with workplace leaders to identify the best way forward for ensuring New Zealanders’ access to quality flexible work arrangements. We are providing both information and resources to make it easy for employers to implement good practices and will continue to assess the best ways of achieving high quality flexible work practices. In the future, I expect we will see the impact of initiatives such as these.
This report sits alongside and complements other research being carried out across government, and by other organisations, including the recently released EEO Trust’s Work and Age Survey and the Ministry of Social Development’s Work, Family and Parenting Study (2006).
I am heartened to learn through this report that the majority of employers do not see barriers impeding their ability to improve flexibility. In support of that, employees report a very real understanding of the business imperatives facing their organisations. It would appear that the time has never been better for both employers and employees to engage in addressing this issue, for improving work-life balance is critical to increasing both our quality of life and our living standards. This report gives us new information that enables us to better understand what we need to do to take the next steps. It is up to all of us to take those steps.
HON. RUTH DYSON Minister of Labour July 2006
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Inroduction: The National Work-Life Balance Surveys of Employers and Employees
An Overview: How And When We Work, And Our Caring Responsibilities
How many hours? How many jobs?
How many work varying hours or shifts? How many work at night?
Working extra hours in own time
Preferences to work more or less
Household type and care responsibilities
How Do We Fare On the Work-Life Balance Front?
What makes Work-Life Balance Harder to Achieve?
Work-life balance and hours worked
Work-life balance and shift work
Work-life balance and working at night
Work-life balance and working extra hours in own time
Specific working arrangements that make work-life balance harder to achieve
How much an impact does work have?
Industry and occupation – do they make a difference?
What factors about home influence work-life blance?
How does home life impact on work?
Work-Life Balance Initiatives we Have Access to and How These Help
Groupings of work-life balance options
Employer barriers to implementing work-life initiatives
What initiatives do employees use?
Which arrangements are the most helpful?
How helpful are these arrangements?
The Impact of Workplace Culture
What else do New Zealand workers want?
Work-Life Balance and Care: Issues for Families
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report provides a snapshot of our paid working lives, our lives and responsibilities outside work and how we balance the two.
It summarises the key findings of two national surveys, one of 1100 employers, and the other of 2000 employees. Employers were asked about the work-life initiatives they offered their staff, and about their attitudes towards such working arrangements. These findings are reported mostly in the section Work-life balance intiatives we have access to, and how these help. Employees answered questions about their own work-life balance, their working arrangements, and their responsibilities and activities outside of work. The results of both surveys have been weighted to provide a nationally representative picture, but a low response rate in both surveys (23% in the employer survey and 17% in the employee survey) means that the results should be treated as indicative, rather than conclusive. For example, it is possible that people working excessively long hours or with poor work-life balance may have been disproportionately unavailable or unwilling to participate in the survey of employees, which would result in an under-representation of this group in the findings. A more detailed discussion on this is available in Appendix 1: Methodology, available from the Department of Labour’s Work-Life Balance website www.dol.govt.nz/worklife or contact centre 0800 20 90 20.
Half of workers responding to the survey work 40-49 hours a week. But almost 20% work longer hours - with 14% working 50-59 hours a week, and 5% working more than 60 hours a week. It shows that 40% of workers have variable hours, 18% work shifts, and about one in four work at least some of their hours between 10pm and 6am.
The findings indicate that more than a third of workers work extra hours in their own time every week in order to get their jobs done. However, two-thirds of workers are satisfied with the hours they work, while 28% would prefer to work less even if it means earning less.
When it comes to responsibilities outside of work, 43% of employees say they are responsible for the care of someone such as a child or an elderly relative.
When it came to rating work-life balance, more than half of respondents reported good, very good or excellent work-life balance, with the average rating falling between “OK” and “Good”. However, 40% of respondents indicated that they have some or a lot of difficulty getting the balance they want.
When work-life balance ratings and the level of difficulty achieving work-life balance are combined into an overall measure, just over half of people experience work-life balance (54%).
What makes work-life balance harder to achieve? Employees report that long working hours, varied hours and rotating shift work impact negatively on their work-life balance. Those working up to 40-49 hours a week are more likely to experience work-life balance than work-life conflict. However, work-life conflict is more likely when employees work 50 or more hours. When hours are worked also makes a difference, especially when they are worked at night. Frequently working extra hours in your own time also makes work-life conflict worse, as does having responsibility for the care of others.
For many employees, work makes it hard to participate fully in family life. For 41% of workers, work sometimes or often makes it difficult to enjoy or spend quality time with family, and 46% sometimes or often find it hard to get home on time.
There are occupational differences in work-life balance ratings, with teachers, nurses, police and other trained service workers having the most difficulty achieving the right balance.
What initiatives are being used to help employees balance their work with other parts of their lives? Commonly available work-life initiatives include being able to occasionally vary start and finish times to cope with a problem, using personal sick leave to care for others, having flexible break provisions, and study leave. Least commonly available initiatives include working from home, flexibility in choosing hours, rosters or shifts, and having additional leave in exchange for less pay. Available initiatives differ by industry and size of employer, and many initiatives are most likely to be offered to senior staff or management.
The most helpful initiative for employees is having flexible start and finish times.
For 44% of employees, the work-life initiatives available to them “help a lot”.
However, workplace initiatives are not the only solution, with workplace culture also weighing in as a key factor in employees’ work-life balance. Almost 60% of employees reported that there were significant aspects of their workplace culture that made work-life balance harder to achieve, particularly the expectations of colleagues, workmates, managers and supervisors.
What else do we want? New Zealand workers want flexible start and finish times, and more leave – both paid and unpaid. They also want more choice about the way they work, both in terms of having more input into rosters and shifts, and choosing the number of hours they work. Carers also want to be able to use their leave in smaller and larger blocks. Maori employees would also like more choice about their hours and when they work them. [table of contents]
INTRODUCTION: THE NATIONAL WORK-LIFE BALANCE SURvEYS OF EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES
This report looks at the way New Zealanders balance their home and working lives, and their attitudes and those of their employers to the issue of work-life balance.
It provides comprehensive information about how we work, our lives outside of work, and how we strike a balance between home and work commitments. It also examines attitudes to work-life balance initiatives and explores barriers to achieving work-life balance.
Increasingly, work-life balance initiatives are seen as an option for organisations wanting to attract and retain good skilled staff, and for employees wanting to lead healthier, more satisfying lives. The increased interest in these initiatives has been driven, in part, by labour and skill shortages, and low unemployment, which have given many workers a stronger negotiating position. In addition, there are increasing numbers of women with young children in paid work, and more dual job/career couples, which may allow some fathers more options in terms of their own work-life balance.
But what initiatives and working arrangements do people already have that help and/or hinder their ability to achieve balance? And how do these relate to the out-of-work responsibilities people also manage on a daily and weekly basis?
This report provides that information, and is organised into five main sections:
- What our work looks like, and who we are responsible for at home
- How we fare on the work-life balance front
- What makes our work-life balance harder/easier
- The work-life initiatives we have access to, and how these help
- Other working arrangements New Zealand workers want.
This report was prepared as part of the Work-Life Balance Project set up by the Government in August 2003. The Work-Life Balance Project aims to promote a better balance between paid work and other aspects of life, through the development of policies and practices.
The report summarises the results of two surveys, one involving employers and the other employees, that were conducted by Research New Zealand (formerly BRC Marketing and Social Research) in 2005. BRC also conducted much of the analysis and produced a number of the figures and tables included in this report.
The surveys had four key objectives:
- To gather information about which work-life initiatives New Zealand workers have access to, and how useful these are
- To assess which employees have access to work-life initiatives
- To gather information about employer and employee attitudes to work-life initiatives
- To gather information about barriers to achieving work-life balance, from both employer and employee perspectives.
The employer survey involved 1100 employers and was conducted in July 2005. The employee survey involved 2000 employed people and was conducted in October/November 2005. The sample populations for the two surveys were not linked due to issues of confidentiality; however, the results of each were weighted to produce a nationally representative picture. Unfortunately, a low response rate (17%) in the employee survey suggests the results should be treated as broadly indicative rather than conclusive. In part, this is due to potential bias in who responded to the survey. It is not unlikely that people with excessively long working hours or the most severe work-life conflict (and thus, the least amount of spare time) might have been less likely or available to take part in the survey and thus would be under-represented in the responses reported here. (See discussion in Appendix 1: Methodology available from the Department of Labour’s Work-Life Balance website www.dol.govt.nz/worklife or contact centre 0800 20 90 20.) [table of contents]
AN OVERVIEW: HOW AND WHEN WE WORK, AND OUR CARING RESPONSIBILITIES
KEY FINDINGS:
- 19% work more than 50 hours a week.
- Hours of work vary for 40%.
- 18% do shift work.
- About a quarter work some hours at night.
- 39% work extra hours in their own time every week to get the job done.
- Two-thirds are satisfied with the number of hours they work.
- 43% have some kind of care responsibility.
This section provides information on how we work, including working hours, and when we work. It also outlines how many working people have significant care responsibilities, such as caring for children, an elderly parent or a spouse. Other details of the survey population, including the distributions of occupation, industry, age, gender, ethnicity, income and geographical location, are included in Appendix 2: Sample Profile, available from the Department of Labour’s Work-Life Balance website www.dol.govt.nz/worklife or contact centre 0800 20 90 20.) [table of contents]
OUR WORKING ARRANGEMENTS
How many hours? How many jobs?
Figure 1 shows the range of hours respondents worked. Not surprisingly, working hours are clustered around the standard working week, which ranges from 38-44 hours. However, a significant group (19%) work very long hours (50 or more hours a week), with 5% working 60 or more hours each week.
It is possible that there are, in fact, higher numbers of people working 50 or more hours per week. Because it is possible that people working longer hours were under-represented in these findings (see Appendix 1: Methodology available from the Department of Labour’s Work-Life Balance website www.dol.govt.nz/worklife or contact centre 0800 20 90 20), it is useful to compare these proportions with other estimates of working hours. For example, in the 2001 census, 25% of employees reported working 50 or more hours per week .
FIGURE 1: Hours worked a week (n=2000)
Hours worked differed by gender, with men more likely to report working longer hours than women. More than a quarter of men (28%) reported working 50 or more hours per week, while only 10% of women reported working these hours. Again, it is likely that these figures under-represent the numbers of those working long hours: the 2001 census indicated that 35% of men and 13% of women were working 50 or more hours each week .
Women were more likely to work less than full-time, with 25% working 10-29 hours per week compared with only 7% of men.
Most respondents (91%) work one job, 86% are employed in permanent positions and 28% belong to a union at their main workplace. [table of contents]
How many work varying hours or shifts? How many work at night?
For 40% of employees, the number of hours worked each day varies. Shift work is done by 18%, with two-thirds of shift workers doing rotating shifts.
The survey also asked people who did not work shifts how often they are required to work at night, and 22% said they worked at least some of their normal hours between 10pm and 6am. When combined with employees working rotating shifts, the results indicate that at least a quarter (27%) of all employees surveyed routinely work at least some of their hours at night.
When those who work at night were asked how often they worked between 10pm and 6am, 37% said less than once a week, 12% said once a week, 12% said two or three times a week, and 15% said four or more times a week. A fifth (21%) said the frequency of night-time work varied too much to say exactly.
There was a gender difference in whether employees worked at night, with 30% of men who don’t work shifts indicating that they work between 10pm and 6am, and 12% of women working in these hours. However, there were no significant gender differences in the frequency of night work. [table of contents]
Working extra hours in own time
A significant finding of the survey concerned the extra hours people work. When people were asked how often it was necessary for them to work extra hours in their own time to get the job done, more than a third (39%) said once or twice a week, or more.
Again, this finding may be an under-representation of the frequency that people work extra hours in their own time, due to the potential response bias caused by people working long hours or with work-life conflict being under-represented in the respondents. (See Appendix 1: Methodology available at from the Department of Labour’s Work-Life Balance website www.dol.govt.nz/worklife or contact centre 0800 20 90 20.)
The Ministry of Social Development’s Work, Family and Parenting Study found that 48% of their respondents take work home at least once a week, and 53% answer or make work-related calls/emails at home at least once a week .
Women were more likely to say that they never worked extra hours (42% of women, compared to 36% of men). [table of contents]
Preferences to work more or less
Almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) said they are satisfied with the number of hours they work, while 7% would like to work more hours and 28% would prefer to work fewer hours, even if it means earning less money. Various reasons are given for preferring to work fewer hours, with the most common being wanting “more leisure time or time for self” (45%), followed by wanting to “spend more time with family/children” (43%).
Men were slightly more likely to say they would prefer to work fewer hours. 30% of men indicated they would prefer to work less, even if it meant earning less, compared with 25% of women. Women were slightly more likely to be satisfied with their current hours (66% compared with 63% of men.) [table of contents]
Home life
Household type and care responsibilities
Employees were asked whether they personally provided care for anyone. The survey showed that 57% of employees have no care responsibilities, 43% provide care for someone, 38% care for a child or children, 5% care for an elderly or a sick relative and 3% care for a sick spouse or partner.
The survey suggests that a reasonable number of employees live in households with dependent children, but are not personally responsible for their care. For example, 42% of respondents live in a family household where the youngest child is younger than 15, yet only 38% of respondents personally care for children.
FIGURE 2: How often do you need to work extra hours in your own time to get the work done? (n=2000)
FIGURE 3: Distribution of household types (n=2000)
FIGURE 4: Care responsibilities (n=2000)
HOW DO WE FARE ON THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE FRONT?
KEY FINDINGS:
• 52% have good, very good or excellent work-life balance.
• 16% have poor or very poor work-life balance.
• 40% have some or a lot of difficulty achieving work-life balance.
The employee survey asked people to rate their work-life balance and to indicate how difficult it was for them to achieve this balance. Figure 5 below shows the spread of work-life balance ratings, with half (52%) of all respondents reporting that their work-life balance is good, very good or excellent. 31% rated their work-life balance as “OK”, and the remaining 16% had “poor” or “very poor” work-life balance.
FIGURE 5: Work-life balance rating (n=2000)
Opinion varied regarding the degree of difficulty people experienced in achieving the right balance. While more than half the respondents indicated that they experience little or no difficulty achieving the right balance, a significant proportion are struggling.
FIGURE 6: Degree of difficulty achieving work-life balance
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY IN ACHIEVING WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Women were more likely to report better work-life balance than men. A third (33%) of women rated their work-life balance as “very good” or “excellent” compared to 23% of men. However, there were no significant gender differences in difficulty achieving work-life balance.
To examine the relationship between work-life balance and a variety of other factors, we created a composite indicator. This indicator is made up of work-life balance rating, difficulty achieving work-life balance and job satisfaction. It was created by subjecting the survey data to a statistical process which segmented the respondents into four groups along a continuum. These four groups are:
- people who experienced significant work-life conflict
- people experiencing moderate work-life conflict
- those with moderate work-life balance
- those with significant work-life balance.
Figure 7 below shows the relative size of each segment, with just over half of people falling into the work-life balance segments, and 46% experiencing work-life conflict. Men and women were equally divided between the middle two “moderate” segments, but men were slightly more likely to be in the significant conflict group that women (20% of men compared to 17% of women) and slightly less likely to be in the significant balance segment (10% of men compared with 13% of women.)
FIGURE 7: Work-life balance composite indicator
WHAT MAKES WORK-LIFE BALANCE HARDER TO ACHIEVE?
KEY FINDINGS:
- People with the highest levels of work-life conflict are more likely to work long hours, varied hours and rotating shifts.
- They are also more likely to work their hours at night.
- many employees work extra hours in their own time.
- 41% find that work sometimes, or often, makes it difficult to enjoy or spend quality time with family.
- Some jobs rate better for work-life balance than others.
- Care responsibilities make it harder to achieve work-life balance.
WORKPLACE FACTORS
Three key factors that made work-life balance harder to achieve, or have a negative impact on work-life balance ratings, are:
- the number of hours worked, particularly working long hours
- when those hours are worked, including shift work, and particularly rotating shifts)
- having to work extra hours outside normal work hours to get the job done.
Work-life balance and hours worked
Overall work-life balance was strongly influenced by the hours people worked. Using the overall work-life balance composite indicator described on page 15, Figure 8 below shows the relationship between working hours and overall work-life balance.
FIGURE 8: Working hours and work-life balance (n=2000)
As Figure 8 shows, up until 40-49 hours a week, employees are more likely to experience work-life balance than work-life conflict. However, working 50 or more hours a week is associated with a significant jump in work-life conflict and a decline in the numbers who report work-life balance. Of those who are working the longest hours, 70% experience some degree of work-life conflict, with 41% experiencing it at the most significant level. Those in the significant work-life conflict group are also more likely than others to say they would prefer to work fewer hours, even if it means earning less money.
Interestingly, the remaining 30% of those working more than 60 hours each week experienced moderate or significant work-life balance, highlighting the fact that work-life balance is different for different people, and that no one working arrangement or number of working hours will suit the preferences or needs of all.
Work-life balance is also not always about working fewer hours, a fact highlighted among those working 10 or fewer hours a week. Of this group, 40% experience work-life conflict, perhaps because they want to work more hours.
Work-life balance and shift work
People who work shifts are more likely to experience work-life conflict than those with other working patterns. The surveys show that 24% of those experiencing significant work-life conflict work shifts, compared to 14% of those with significant work-life balance. Those with significant work-life conflict are also more likely to work rotating shifts. [table of contents]
Work-life balance and working at night
Work-life conflict is also greater for those who work at night, between the hours of 10pm and 6am. Of those working between these hours, more than half (58%) experience moderate or significant work-life conflict, compared with 41% of those who didn’t work during these hours.
When the number of people who work rotating shifts is added to the number of non-shift workers who work at night, the total indicates that a significant proportion of New Zealand employees work at least some of their regular hours outside the standard working week. Known as “unsocial” hours in the work-life balance literature, working between 10pm and 6am can cause some significant work-life issues. These include difficulties finding childcare, maintaining significant relationships with friends and partners, and taking care of standard business such as going to the bank and running errands - tasks often done during breaks by those who work more “standard” hours.
Alternatively, working at night can also be used as a strategy to manage family life, particularly when one partner works nights and the other works days, thereby ensuring one adult is always at home and alleviating the need for paid childcare. However, for many, such an arrangement may come with significant costs, including a lack of sleep and associated fatigue, and reduced ability to have quality time for family.
Work-life balance and working extra hours in own time
Figure 9 shows that working extra hours in personal time has a significant negative impact on work-life balance. As the frequency of working in own time increases, so does the degree of work-life conflict, and work-life balance declines. People who work extra hours in their own time on most days are more likely to experience work-life conflict than work-life balance, with more than a third experiencing significant levels of conflict.
FIGURE 9: Work-life balance and working hours in own time
The critical features for those who experience conflict are that they are:
- more likely to be working longer hours (34% work 50 or more hours, compared to 6% of those with significant work-life balance)
- more likely to have their hours vary in their main job (52%, compared to 30% of those with significant work-life balance)
- more likely to work shift work in their main job (24%, compared to 14% of those with significant work-life balance)
- more likely to work rotating shifts (70% compared to 39% of those with significant work-life balance)
- more likely to have to work between the hours of 10pm and 6am (37% compared to 15% of those with significant work-life balance)
Specific working arrangements make work-life balance harder to achieve
Respondents were asked to say whether any of the following factors made work-life balance a little or a lot harder, or had no impact:
- The starting and finishing time
- How easy/ difficult it is to take leave, or time off to attend to other things
- The type of work done
- The amount and/or frequency of travel required
- The deadlines and schedules
- Having to take additional work home
- The expectations and attitudes of supervisors or managers
- The expectations and attitudes of colleagues and workmates
- The times meetings and training are scheduled
- The number of hours or overtime
- The amount of notice about hours or overtime
- The timing of the shifts or rosters
- The amount of notice about new shifts or rosters
- Not having a choice about what shifts or rosters are worked.
Figure 10 shows that the factors with the most negative impact on work-life balance are “deadlines and schedules” (67% say they made work-life balance a little or a lot harder), “the type of work they do” (60%), “the expectations and attitudes of their supervisor or manager” (59%), “the expectations and attitudes of colleagues and workmates” (59%) and “the number of hours or overtime that they needed to work” (59%). More specifically, achieving work-life balance was reported to be “a lot harder” due to “deadlines and schedules” (24%), “the type of work they do” (22%) and “the number of hours or overtime they need to work” (21%).
FIGURE 10: Factors making work-life balance harder
How much of an impact does work have?
Respondents provided information about aspects of their work that made work-life balance harder. They were also asked about the impact these things had on life outside of work.
Opinions varied regarding the level of impact that work practices have on the ability to achieve work-life balance. For example, while one in five said “getting home on time” was “often” made difficult by work, 26% said work only made this difficult “sometimes”. The remainder (53%) said work “rarely” or “never” affected their ability to get home on time.
Figure 11 below shows the impact of work on some aspects of home life.
FIGURE 11: How big an impact work has on work-life balance
Q18. Thinking about your main job, how often does your work make it difficult for you to… Note: Components may not always add to 100% exactly because of rounding.
Some groups of employees are significantly more likely to report work “often” has an impact on work-life balance, as Table 1 below shows.
TABLE 1: Groups significantly more likely to report work “often” has an impact on home activities
| Group | Those working variable hours % | Those working shifts % | Those working at night % | Those working 50-59 hours % | Those working 60+ hours % | Total sample% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Work “often” has an impact on getting home on time | 28 | ** | 33 | 38 | 57 | 20 |
| Work “often” has an impact on enjoying or spending quality time with family | 18 | ** | 22 | 19 | 38 | 14 |
| Work “often” has an impact on keeping healthy and fit, playing sports, or other leisure activities | 18 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 35 | 15 |
| Work “often” has an impact on spending time with family | 16 | ** | 21 | 20 | 39 | 13 |
| Work “often” has an impact on doing any study or training | 16 | 19 | 18 | 28 | 13 | |
| Work “often” has an impact on spending time with friends | 16 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 23 | 12 |
Table 1 shows that as people work longer hours, they are less likely to be able to participate in other activities such as spending time with family. In addition, those who work shifts, varying hours, or at night are more likely to find work impacts negatively on other things.
Not surprisingly, people who said they experienced “some” or “a lot” of difficulty achieving work-life balance were also more likely to say that work “often” impacts on their ability to do things like “get home on time” and “enjoy or spend quality time with family”. Of those who had “a lot of difficulty” achieving work-life balance, 53% said work “often” impacts on their ability to get home on time, 52% said work “often” impacts on their ability to enjoy or spend time with family, and 41% said work “often” impacts on their ability to take part in community activities or fulfil religious commitments.
Clearly there is a strong relationship between an employee’s degree of difficulty in achieving work-life balance and how often work impacts on their home life. In addition, when work impacts on an employee’s ability to do one activity, it is also likely that their work will impact on other activities. For example, if an employee’s work makes it difficult for them to spend time with their family, it is also likely that it will be hard for them to spend time with friends (correlation is .639, significant at 0.01). (See Department of Labour’s Work-Life Balance website www.dol.govt.nz/worklife for table of correlations). [table of contents]
Industry and occupation – do they make a difference?
Employees rated their work-life balance on a six-point scale, ranging from “very poor” to “excellent”. When these ratings are converted to numerical values - where one equals “very poor” and six equals “excellent” - the average score was 3.63. That put it somewhere between “OK” and “good”.
Similarly, employees rated the level of difficulty in getting the balance right on a four-point scale, ranging from “no difficulty” to “a lot of difficulty”. When these are assigned numerical values, the average rating is 2.22 - between “a little difficulty” and “some difficulty”.
When we sorted people according to the industry they worked in, we found there are no significant differences between industries, with the following exceptions:
- Those in the finance and insurance sector, and the government administration sector rated their levels of work-life balance higher (3.98 and 3.92 respectively).
- Those in the education sector rated their work-life balance levels lower (3.49) and the level of difficulty in getting the balance right greater (2.41).
- Those in the wholesale trade sector rated their levels of difficulty in achieving work-life balance slightly lower (1.98).
The kinds of jobs people do made a significant difference. Table 2 shows that clerical or sales employees report the highest levels of work-life balance, while business managers or executives, teachers, nurses, police and other trained service workers report the lowest. These occupations also have the greatest difficulty in getting the balance right, whereas labourers, semi-skilled workers and clerical or sales staff have the least difficulty.
| Rating | Occupation | Work-life balance rating (High is better) | Difficulty in getting the balance right (Lower is better) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clerical or sales employee (n=393) | 4.05 | 2.05 |
| 2 | Other (n=44) | 3.76 | 2.06 |
| 3 | Professional or government official (n=210) | 3.67 | 2.35 |
| 4 | Labourer, manual, agricultural or domestic worker (n=122) | 3.66 | 1.9 |
| - | Average | 3.63 | 2.22 |
| 5 | Semi-skilled worker (n=134) | 3.62 | 1.82 |
| 6 | Farm owner or manager (n=9*) | 3.61 | 1.74 |
| 7 | Technical or skilled worker (n=383) | 3.58 | 2.2 |
| 8 | Business owner or self-employed (n=12*) | 3.49 | 2.4 |
| 9 | Business manager or executive (n=251) | 3.46 | 2.4 |
| 10 | Teacher, nurse, police or other trained service worker (n=442) | 3.45 | 2.44 |
*Caution: small sub-sample results are indicative only.
Not surprisingly, respondents in occupations with the poorest work-life ratings are also more likely to report that aspects of their work make it more difficult to achieve work-life balance.
Teachers, nurses, police and other trained service workers are significantly more likely to report that the timing of meetings and training, the type of work they do, the number of hours or overtime they need to work, expectations and attitudes of colleagues and workmates, and having to take work home, make it harder to achieve work-life balance. As a result, respondents in these occupations are more likely to report that work often makes it difficult to spend time with family, take care of personal business, keep healthy and fit or play sports, or engage in other leisure activities.
Business managers or executives are significantly more likely to report that their deadlines and schedules, the type of work they do, the number of hours or overtime they work, the amount and/or frequency of travel required, and having to take work home makes it harder to achieve work-life balance. This make it harder to get home on time, keep healthy and fit or play sports, or engage in other leisure activities. [table of contents]
HOME-LIFE FACTORS
Achieving work-life balance is not just about working arrangements. Responsibilities and other factors at home also contribute. [table of contents]
What factors about home influence work-life balance?
Employees were asked about care responsibilities, household composition, income, age, and other factors that might affect their ability to achieve work-life balance. A key factor affecting work-life balance was whether or not employees had care responsibilities outside of work.
Figure 12 shows that the differences between the work-life balance of those with and without care responsibilities are small, with those without care responsibilities experiencing slightly better work-life balance. Almost half (49%) of those with care responsibilities experienced some level of work-life conflict, compared with 42% of those without such responsibilities. For further discussion on issues for families and carers, see page 41.
FIGURE 12: Work-life balance and care responsibilities
Interestingly, while neither income nor sole parent status have a significant effect on overall work-life balance ratings, age does makes a difference. 31% of those experiencing significant work-life conflict are aged 40 to 49, while only 24% of those experiencing significant work-life balance are in this age group.
In addition, those experiencing conflict are:
- more likely to be male (57% of those reporting significant work-life conflict are men, compared with 47% of those who report significant work-life balance)
- more likely to have children in their households (59% of those with children experience significant conflict, compared to 51% reporting significant work-life balance)
- more likely to have carer responsibilities (48% of those reporting significant conflict personally care for children, an elderly relative or someone with a disability etc, compared to 40% of those with significant work-life balance).
How does home life impact on work?
The “spill-over” between home and work is not limited to the impact of work on home life. Respondents reported that their home lives affect their ability to undertake work tasks, although the impact of the home-to-work spill-over is less than the impact of work on home life.
Respondents were asked to say how often their home lives made it difficult for them to do specific tasks at work. As Table 3 shows, while most respondents rate their life outside of work as “rarely” or “never” impacting on their work or productivity, there is clearly a middle ground where opinion varies.
For example, while 38% reported that life outside work “often” or “sometimes” affects “having enough energy to do their job”, 62% say life outside work “rarely” or “never” has this impact.
This is also the case with regard to “concentrating when they are at work”, and “being productive at work”.
| And how often do the things in your life outside of work make it difficult for you to… | Never (%) | Rarely (%) | Sometimes (%) | Often (%) | Don’t know/NA (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concentrate when you are at work | 38 | 30 | 26 | 5 | 0 |
| Have enough energy to do your job | 39 | 23 | 29 | 9 | 1 |
| Be productive at work | 46 | 29 | 21 | 4 | 0 |
| Take up development and career opportunities at work | 48 | 22 | 18 | 5 | 7 |
| Be at work for the hours you are contracted for | 53 | 27 | 15 | 4 | 2 |
| Get to work on time | 52 | 26 | 15 | 6 | 1 |
Note: Components may not always add to 100% exactly because of rounding.
Those with carer responsibilities are significantly more likely to report that life outside of work sometimes impacted on their ability to:
- take up development and career opportunities at work (21%, compared with 16% for non-carers)
- get to work on time (20%, compared with 11% for non-carers).
- Not surprisingly, employees caring for pre-schoolers are significantly more likely to report that life outside work sometimes impacts on their ability to:
- concentrate when they are at work (33%, compared with 24% for those with no children)
- have enough energy to do their job (37%, compared with 27% for those with no children)
- take up development and career opportunities at work (21%, compared with 15% for those with no children)
- get to work on time (23%, compared with 9% for those with no children).
WORK-LIFE BALANCE INITIATIVES WE HAVE ACCESS TO, AND HOW THESE HELP
KEY FINDINGS:
- Commonly available work-life initiatives include being able to occasionally vary start and finish times to cope with a problem, using personal sick leave to care for others, having flexible break provisions and study leave.
- Least commonly available initiatives include working from home, flexibility in choosing hours, rosters or shifts, and having additional leave in exchange for less pay.
- Available initiatives differ by industry and size of employer.
- The most helpful initiative for employees is having flexible start and finish times.
- 44% of employees find the work-life initiatives available to them “a lot of help”.
- A positive workplace culture is a key factor in employees’ work-life balance.
There are a variety of working arrangements that can help people achieve a better balance between work and other things in their lives. One aim of the surveys was to find out which work-life initiatives New Zealanders have access to, and to see which employees have access to them. This section reports on the spread of work-life initiatives across New Zealand employers and employees. [table of contents]
WHAT EMPLOYERS OFFER
Employers were asked about a range of working arrangements, and whether these are available to all or some employees in their workplace. Where the working arrangement was only available to some employees, participants were also asked to say which groups of employees had access to the working arrangement.
The most commonly available options (i.e. those available to all employees at 0% or more of the workplaces surveyed) are:
- being allowed to occasionally vary starting and finishing times to deal with problems outside of work, such as childcare issues, going to the doctor, etc. (available to all employees at 92% of workplaces)
- using personal sick leave to care for other people who are sick, e.g. children, parents or a partner (available to all employees at 86% of workplaces)
- having flexible break provisions, e.g. taking longer breaks after long shifts or intensive work (available to all employees at 65% of workplaces)
- study leave (available to all employees at 52% of workplaces).
- The least commonly available options (i.e. those not available to any employees at 50% or more of the workplaces surveyed) are:
- regularly working from home (not available to any employees at 80% of workplaces)
- having additional leave in exchange for reduced pay (not available to any employees at 63% of workplaces)
- being allowed to select their own rosters or shifts (not available to any employees at 61% of workplaces)
- occasionally working from home (not available to any employees at 59% of workplaces)
- having flexibility in choosing when they work the number of hours they are contracted to do, e.g. compressed or staggered hours, working only when schools are in term, etc. (not available to any employees at 55% of workplaces)
- job sharing (not available to any employees at 50% of workplaces).
Figure 13 provides a pictorial breakdown of the different working arrangements available to some or all employees.
FIGURE 13: Types of working arrangements available in workplaces (n=1,100)
All employers who said work-life balance options are available to some, but not all, employees were asked who these options are available to.
- Being allowed to occasionally vary starting and finishing times to deal with problems outside work is more frequently offered to full-time employees (39%) and senior staff or management (27%), although for 16% it is dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
- Being allowed to regularly vary starting and finishing times for any reason is most likely to be available to senior staff or management (34%), as well as support staff and full-time employees (20% and 19% respectively).
- Being allowed to select their own rosters or shifts is most likely to be offered to part-time employees (24%), although it is also often offered to senior staff or management (22%).
- Regularly working from home is most likely to be available to senior staff or management (47%) and support staff (22%). The results are similar for “occasionally working from home”, with these two groups recording 51% and 15% respectively.
- Job sharing is most likely to be available to support staff (42%) and part-time employees (19%).
- Employees having flexibility in choosing when they work the number of hours they are contracted to do is most likely to be available to part-time and full-time employees (24% and 21% respectively), as well as senior staff or management (21%) and support staff (20%).
- Having flexible break provisions is most likely to be available to senior staff or management (25%), as well as support staff and full-time employees (18% each).
- Study leave is most likely to be offered to apprentices/trainees (24%) and full-time employees (23%).
- Having additional leave in exchange for reduced pay is more frequently offered to senior staff or management (26%) and full-time employees (25%), although for 13% it is dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
- Using personal sick leave to care for other people who are sick is often available to full-time and part-time employees (45% and 19% respectively).
Differences by industry
As might be expected, the likelihood of certain types of working arrangements being made available to employees depends partly on the industry.
(See Appendix 4 available from the Department of Labour’s Work-Life Balance website www.dol.govt.nz/worklife or contact centre 0800 20 90 20.)
| industry | Less likely to offer | More likely to offer |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | selecting own rosters or shifts job sharing study leave part-time work occasionally working from home |
|
| Retail | regularly working from home occasionally working from home study leave using personal sick leave to care for other people who are sick. |
|
| Property and Business services | being allowed to select their own rosters or shifts. | regularly working from home occasionally working from home study leave |
| Health and Community Services | having additional leave in exchange for reduced pay flexibility in choosing when they work the number of hours they are contracted to do job sharing being allowed to select their own rosters or shifts study leave part-time work using personal sick leave to care for other people who are sick |
|
| Education Services | having flexible break provisions being allowed to occasionally vary starting and finishing times to deal with problems outside of work being allowed to select their own rosters or shifts |
occasionally working from home job sharing study leave part-time work using personal sick leave to care for other people |
| Wholesale Trade | part-time work and being allowed to select their own rosters or shifts |
|
| Hospitality | Occasionally working from home | flexibility in choosing when they work the number of hours they are contracted to do being allowed to select their own rosters or shifts job sharing being allowed to regularly vary starting and finishing times for any reasons having flexible break provisions part-time work |
| Construction | Regularly working from home Being allowed to select their own rosters of shifts Flexibility in choosing when they work the number of hours they are contracted to do Job sharing Part-time work |
|
| Transport and Storage | Study leave |
Types of working arrangements also vary by business size
As might be expected, the types of work-life initiatives offered differ according to the size of the business.
Employers with between five and 10 staff are:
- less likely to offer:
- part-time work.
- more likely to offer:
- being allowed to regularly vary starting and finishing times for any reasons
- job sharing
- having flexibility in choosing when they work the number of hours they are contracted to do
- being allowed to select their own rosters or shifts.
Employers with between 11 and 20 staff are:
- less likely to offer:
- being allowed to select their own rosters or shifts
- having flexibility in choosing when they work the number of hours they are contracted to do.
Employers with between 21 and 50 staff are:
- more likely to offer:
- study leave
- less likely to offer:
- being allowed to regularly vary starting and finishing times for any reason
- job sharing
- having flexibility in choosing when they work the number of hours they are contracted to do.
Employers with between 51 and 100 staff are:
- more likely to offer:
- occasionally working from home
- part-time work
- less likely to offer:
- being allowed to regularly vary starting and finishing times for any reason
- having flexible break provisions (51% compared with 65% of the total sample).
Employers with more than 100 staff are:
- more likely to offer:
- occasionally working from home
- part-time work
- less likely to offer:
- having flexible break provisions (48% compared with 65% of the total sample)
- being allowed to regularly vary starting and finishing times for any reasons (35% compared with 49%).
Small employers (up to 10) appear to be very flexible in the range of working practices they offer staff, though interestingly they are less likely to offer part-time work than larger organisations. However, as organisations grow in size, the survey results suggest it becomes more difficult to provide flexible working arrangements, with employers of both 11-20 people and 21-50 people being less likely to offer the range of flexible working arrangements that smaller employers offer. The results also indicate that large employers are more likely to offer, or more able to accommodate, formalised flexible work policies, such as working from home or working part-time, but they are not as likely to allow flexibility in the way hours are worked within the work day. [table of contents]
Groupings of work-life balance options
Further analysis identified four groups within the 12 work-life balance options. The options in each group are commonly associated with each other, that is, when one is available in a workplace, others in the same group are also likely to be available.
The groups and associated work arrangements are:
- Choosing the amount of work group:
- Job sharing
- Part-time work
- Having flexibility in choosing when they work the number of hours they are contracted to do
- Being allowed to select their own rosters or shifts
- Having additional leave in exchange for reduced pay.
- Working from home group:
- Occasionally working from home
- Regularly working from home.
- Flexible work group:
- Being allowed to regularly vary starting and finishing times for any reason
- Having flexible break provisions
- Being allowed to occasionally vary starting and finishing times to deal with problems outside of work.
- Miscellaneous group:
- Using personal sick leave to care for other people who are sick
- Study leave.
Employer barriers to implementing work-life initiatives
One of the primary objectives of the survey was to identify the barriers that employers believe might stand in the way of them introducing work-life initiatives. All employers surveyed were read a series of statements that employers have said “put them off” from having flexible working arrangements. Employers were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with the statement as it applied to their own workplace.
Depending on the statement, between 17% and 40% of employers agree these things “put them off” having flexible working arrangements. (See Figure 14.) About three in four employers (74%) disagree/strongly disagree that “it’s too expensive to have these types of work arrangements”, while 62% disagree/strongly disagree that “it’s too complicated”, and 54% disagree/strongly disagree that “the type of work in their company needs to have everyone in the workplace at the same time”.
FIGURE 14: Barriers to introducing work-life intiatives
While more than a half of employers (55%) said there are no other things that could “put them off” from having flexible working arrangements, 45% mentioned some other factors (mostly just one). Of these, the most frequently mentioned include:
- hard to do (manage/organise, control/monitor), communication (9% of the total sample)
- unable to be flexible in our business (7%)
- staff abusing the system, dishonesty, taking advantage of flexibility, and/or not appreciating the benefits (6%).
…AND WHAT EMPLOYEES USE
What initiatives do employees use?
While it is important to gather information about the kinds of initiatives employers offer, employees’ ability to use such arrangements depends on a variety of factors, including the culture of the workplace. We asked workers to indicate what work-life initiatives are available to them, and whether or not they used any of the initiatives.
Table 5 shows that “having access to a phone and/or phone messages” and “knowing you can go if there is a family emergency” are the most commonly available initiatives. Virtually all employees report access to these, perhaps in part due to the increased availability of cell phones. The next most commonly available initiatives are “having minor variations in start and finish times occasionally to cope with a problem” (available to 87%) and “using your sick/domestic leave to look after family members” (available to 86%.) However, as Table 5 shows, the numbers of employees who use these initiatives differs.
In addition, some employees are unsure whether some of the initiatives are available to them, with this particularly the case for buying or negotiating extra annual leave.
TABLE 5: Current work arrangement used and/or available
For each of the following work arrangements, can you tell me whether you personally have this available to you in your main workplace and whether or not you use this, or if this arrangement is something you would like to have, or it doesn’t apply to your job.
| Arrangement | Available and used (%) | Available and not used (%) | Not available, would like to use (%) | Not available, do not want (%) | Does not apply to my job (%) | Don’t know whether available (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Have flexible start and finish times | 55 | 7 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Choose your own lunch break | 67 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 0 |
| Have minor variations in start and finish times occasionally to cope with a problem | 79 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Choose how many hours you work | 35 | 9 | 25 | 17 | 13 | 1 |
| Choose your own rosters or shifts | 29 | 4 | 15 | 14 | 37 | 0 |
| Have input or be able to change your rosters or shifts | 43 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 30 | 0 |
| Regularly work your normal hours from home | 11 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 55 | 0 |
| Occasionally work your normal hours from home | 20 | 5 | 11 | 13 | 50 | 1 |
| Know you can go if there is a family emergency | 79 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Buy or negotiate additional annual leave (more than 3 weeks per year) | 24 | 13 | 27 | 13 | 12 | 11 |
| Use annual leave in small blocks e.g. 2 hours | 39 | 17 | 8 | 18 | 10 | 8 |
| Work less than full time work hours | 32 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 10 | 3 |
| Take school holidays off | 31 | 22 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 5 |
| Use your sick/domestic leave to look after family members | 57 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Have extra unpaid leave | 39 | 38 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Have access to a phone and/or phone messages | 93 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Have access to a shower (for after exercise or getting dirty during work) | 34 | 29 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 1 |
Note: Components may not always add to 100% exactly because of rounding.
This table indicates that many employees are quite realistic about the initiatives that might be possible within their workplace, and are mindful of business constraints in the flexible arrangements available to them. For example, many employees indicate that working from home is not applicable to the kind of work they do. [table of contents]
Which arrangements are the most helpful?
When employees were asked to name the three most helpful initiatives they have access to and use, the most frequently mentioned are “having flexible start and finish times” (79%), “knowing they could leave in an emergency” (50%), and “having minor variations in start and finish times” and “using sick/domestic leave to look after family members” (both 39%). When asked the single most helpful arrangement, “having flexible start and finish times” was the most reported answer, cited by 44% of respondents. [table of contents]
How helpful are these arrangements?
Figure 15 shows how much the various arrangements help people to achieve work-life balance. For 44% of respondents, the arrangements they use help “a lot”. For 29%, their arrangements provide “some help”, while the remaining 26% said their arrangements provide only “a little” or “no help”.
FIGURE 15: Amount of help working arrangements provide in achieving work-life balance
Some working arrangements are more likely to be “a lot of help” than others. Interestingly, the arrangements ranked as most helpful are not necessarily the ones that provide “a lot of help”. This is because the question on the “most helpful” arrangement asked respondents to rank the working arrangements they used in order of importance. This meant an arrangement could be the most helpful one that someone had access to, yet it might only be of “some help”.
The arrangements most likely to provide “a lot of help” are “choosing how many hours they work”, “regularly working normal hours from home”, “occasionally working normal hours from home”, and “working less than full-time hours”. All of these are described as providing “a lot of help” by 57% of people who use them. “Having flexible start and finish times” and “having extra unpaid leave”, are both described as providing “a lot of help” by 54% of people who use them. [table of contents]
THE IMPACT OF WORKPLACE CULTURE
The culture in which people work also has an impact on their ability to achieve work-life balance. As shown earlier in Figure 10, two factors that have a significant negative impact on work-life balance are “the expectations and attitudes of their supervisor or manager” and “the expectations and attitudes of colleagues and workmates”. In both cases, 59% of employees said these make work-life balance “a little” or “a lot” harder.
Respondents were also asked about their level of comfort in discussing work-life balance issues with their manager. Figure 16 shows the degree of comfort employees have, with 49% feeling very comfortable and 18% feeling somewhat comfortable in raising these issues with management. However, a significant number of employees experience discomfort in raising work-life issues.
FIGURE 16: Level of comfort in discussing work-life issues with their manager (n=2000)
This figure shows that while the majority of employees feel they can discuss work-life needs fairly freely, 11% of employees are uncomfortable discussing work-life balance issues with their manager. Overall, almost a third of employees experience some level of discomfort about discussing particular work-life issues with management, with two-thirds of these saying their level of comfort depends on the issue.
There is a clear link between comfort discussing work-life issues with management and overall work-life balance. Of those who said they are not comfortable discussing such issues, 56% experience significant work-life conflict. A further 25% experience moderate conflict. Of those who are very comfortable discussing work-life issues with management, only 10% experience significant conflict, while 51% have moderate work-life balance and a further 19% have significant work-life balance.
Respondents were also asked if they thought there would be negative impacts for those who use work-life balance initiatives. While two-thirds of respondents thought there would be no negative impact, 31% thought there would be. The most common negative consequences cited are “being resented by fellow workers” (cited by 39% of those who thought there would be negative impacts) and “finding it hard to progress in your career” (listed by 38% of those who thought there would be negative impacts).
Not surprisingly, there is a relationship between overall work-life balance and believing that using work-life initiatives will have negative consequences at work. Those who said there are negative consequences are more likely to experience work-life conflict, and more likely to feel less comfortable discussing such issues with management.
The relationship between these aspects of workplace culture and overall work-life balance is strong. This was also illustrated when the relationship between employees’ ratings of positive workplace culture and work-life balance are examined. Employees were asked whether they agree with a series of statements regarding “positive workplace culture practices” in their workplace. These included statements such as “my workplace values the contribution that I make in my job” and “I am able to influence the way that things are done at my workplace”. Figure 17 shows that there are strong correlations between employees’ ratings of work-life balance and the number of positive culture practices that apply to their workplace.
FIGURE 17: Relationship between positive workplace culture and work-life balance
WHAT ELSE DO NEW ZEALAND WORKERS WANT?
KEY FINDINGS:
Employees want:
- flexible start and finish times
- additional leave, both paid and unpaidmore say about how they work, including the ability to change rosters and shifts, and choose how many hours they work.
As Table 5 shows, employees were asked to indicate what initiatives are available at their workplace, and whether they use them. If an initiative is not available in their workplace, respondents were asked whether they would like to be able to use it.
Table 6 shows the percentage of respondents who would like to use each initiative, as a proportion of those who do not have that initiative available to them. Three initiatives, namely “know you can go if there is a family emergency”, “use your sick/domestic leave to look after family members”, and “have access to a phone and/or phone messages” were excluded, as the majority of employees already have access to them.
| Initiative | % of respondents who would like to use initiative, as a proportion of those who do not currently have it available |
|---|---|
| Have extra unpaid leave | 74% |
| Have minor variations in start and finish times occasionally to cope with a problem | 72% |
| Buy or negotiate additional annual leave | 68% |
| Have flexible start and finish times | 64% |
| Have input or be able to change your rosters or shifts | 60% |
| Choose how many hours you work | 59% |
| Choose your own lunch break | 54% |
| Chose your own rosters or shifts | 52% |
| Work less than full time hours | 48% |
| Take school holidays off | 48% |
| Occasionally work your normal hours from home | 47% |
| Have access to a shower (for after exercise or getting dirty during work) | 46% |
| Regularly work your normal hours from home | 41% |
| Use annual leave in small blocks (e.g. 2 hours) | 32% |
Not surprisingly, the initiatives not available but wanted by the greatest number of respondents are also among the initiatives that respondents said would be the most helpful in achieving work-life balance. Respondents were also asked to list the top three initiatives not available to them that would be the most helpful. Excluding initiatives that most respondents already have access to (see above), the most frequently cited initiatives that would be the most helpful are:
- having flexible start and finish times (rated as one of the three most helpful initiatives by 58%)
- buying or negotiating additional annual leave (rated as one of the three most helpful initiatives by 53%)
- occasionally working normal hours from home (rated as one of the three most helpful initiatives by 50%).
WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND CARE: ISSUES FOR FAMILIES
KEY FINDINGS:
- Carers are more likely to use particular working arrangements, including taking school holidays off, and using sick leave to care for family members.
- Carers are more likely to say their arrangements help “a lot”.
- Carers want :
- to take annual leave in small blocks
- to have school holidays off
- extra unpaid leave.
As mentioned earlier, 43% of employees identify themselves as carers, and 42% live in households with children under the age of 15. The survey found that 38% of respondents care for a child or children, 5% provide care for an elderly or a sick relative, and 3% provide care for a sick spouse or partner.
The findings indicate that carers have greater difficulty in achieving work-life balance, with 49% reporting they have a “good” to “excellent” work-life balance (compared with 55% of non-carers), and 45% having “some” or “a lot” of difficulty in getting the balance right (compared with 37% of non-carers.)
While there are no statistically significant differences between the reported occupations of carers and non-carers, carers are significantly more likely to work less than 30 hours per week in their main job (22% compared with 12% of non-carers), perhaps reflecting the need to have more time available to engage in care–related activities.
Not surprisingly, carers are significantly more likely to use particular working arrangements, as illustrated in Figure 18.
FIGURE 18: Working arrangements used and carer status
Carers in households with a youngest child under five are significantly more likely to report that certain work practices make it harder to achieve work-life balance.
FIGURE 19: Working arrangements used, carers of children under five and non-carers
Those with caring responsibilities, especially those caring for school-aged children, are significantly more likely to say that the arrangements they use help “a lot” in achieving work-life balance (47% for carers compared with 42% for non-carers 51% for school-aged children versus 44% for total).
Carers are significantly more likely to indicate that of the arrangements they didn’t have access to, the most helpful would be using annual leave in small blocks, taking school holidays off, and having extra unpaid leave. Those with a youngest child under five are the group of carers who most want these arrangements. [table of contents]
WORK-LIFE BALANCE FOR MAORI
KEY FINDINGS:
- maori employees are more likely to have working arrangements that make it harder to achieve work-life balance, such as shift work and working at night.
- maori employees want :
- to choose how many hours they work, and their rosters/shifts
- flexible start and finish times
- to have school holidays off.
This section of the report provides an overview of the work-related issues for Maori, in order to understand the constraints and limitations this group experiences, their current work-life balancing arrangements, and desires and opinions for achieving a work-life balance as compared to the total population. Because the number of Maori in the sample was relatively small, the data that follows is indicative and has been included for descriptive purposes.
As detailed in the following table, 8% of the total sample identified themselves as Maori, and 2% as Pacific peoples. Of note, no significant differences have been reported for Pacific peoples due to the low base size.
| Ethnicity | Total sample (Weighted) n=2000 % |
|---|---|
| New Zealand European (or Pakeha) | 78 |
| Maori | 8 |
| Pacific peoples | 2 |
| Asian | 3 |
| Other European | 7 |
| Other ethnic group | 2 |
| Refused | 1 |
| Total | 100 |
Total may exceed 100% because of multiple response.
Of Maori respondents, 46% said their work-life balance is “good” to “excellent”, compared with 53% for non-Maori. “Some” or “a lot” of difficulty in getting the balance right is reported by 44% of Maori, compared with 40% of non-Maori. However, the correlation between ethnicity and difficulties in achieving work-life balance is not statistically significant (.026). So while the results suggest that Maori may have greater difficulty in achieving work-life balance, these differences are not statistically significant and should be viewed as indicative only.
However, difficulties in achieving work-life balance are strongly correlated with the type of work an employee does, a finding that is important given the differences in working patterns that are apparent between Maori and the total population. Maori respondents record the highest levels for shift work in their main job (27%,compared with 17% for the total population), and are significantly more likely to report usually having to work between 10pm and 6am four times a week or more (38%, compared 16% for the total population).
Maori respondents are significantly more likely to use the following work arrangements, compared to the overall sample:
- Using their sick/domestic leave to look after family members (68%, compared with 57% for the total).
- Having input or being able to change their rosters or shifts (54%, compared with 43% for the total).
- Having access to a shower for after exercise or getting dirty during work (46%, compared with 34% for the total).
By comparison, Maori respondents are significantly more likely to report they would like to use the following work arrangements:
- Taking school holidays off (20%, compared with 12% for the total).
- Choosing their own rosters or shifts (26%, compared with 15% for the total).
- Choosing how many hours they work (36%, compared with 25% for the total).
- Having flexible start and finish times (27%, compared with 18% for the total).
Maori respondents are significantly more likely to report that the following work issues make work-life balance “a little/a lot harder”:
- The expectations and attitudes of colleagues and workmates (72%, compared with 59% for the total).
- The type of work they do (70%, compared with 60% for the total).
- The expectations and attitudes of their supervisor or manager (69%, compared with 59% for the total).
- The amount and/or frequency of travel required (59%, compared with 48% for the total).
- Not having a choice about what shifts or rosters they work (19%, compared with 11% for the total).
Of note, no other significant differences are found for Maori, or other ethnic groups. [table of contents]
CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS
The results outlined in this report indicate that many New Zealand workers already have good work-life balance. Half of our respondents say their balance is good, and two-thirds feel they are working the hours they prefer.
There is, however, a significant group who experience work-life conflict and who have significant difficulty in getting the balance they would like. This conflict is made harder by care responsibilities at home and a variety of arrangements at work each of which have impacts, or spill-over, to the other for extended periods of time.
Many people work very long hours, and frequently work extra hours in their own time. This is a concern not only for those workers and their families, friends and communities, but also for their employers, who may face declines in productivity, employee stress and burnout, and other health and safety impacts as a result.
Many of those with the worst conflict are working at night or on shifts, and many are people who provide services to others, such as teachers, nurses and police.
Less tangible is the effect of negative workplace cultures, where attitudes and the fear of negative consequences may prevent employees from taking the steps they need to restore balance. This can be exacerbated when employees feel uncomfortable discussing their needs with management.
Having poor work-life balance affects both home life and, to a lesser degree, work life. Those with poor balance have trouble getting home on time and find it difficult to spend time with friends and family. They also find it hard to have the time and energy to keep fit and healthy or play sports, which is a concern given the rising rate of obesity in New Zealand. Work may also suffer – those who are struggling to find the right balance are more likely to find it difficult to concentrate at work, and getting to work on time may be a challenge.
So, what are the solutions? Many employers recognise that their staff face these issues, and the vast majority have taken steps to offer some work-life initiatives, such as providing access to a phone and/or messages and allowing staff occasional flexibility to cope with a problem. Some employers are going further and allowing staff access to a much wider range of initiatives, including flexible start and finish times, and flexibility in shift or roster selection. In turn, employees have indicated that the initiatives that their employers offer do provide real help in achieving a better balance.
Additional initiatives that most employees want include more time away from work, in the form of both unpaid leave and additional annual leave, and flexible start and finish times. Employees seem to be realistic about business needs and the constraints of their workplaces, with many indicating that initiatives like working from home wouldn’t be suitable or applicable to their role. They are also relatively satisfied with the hours they work, with only a quarter indicating that they would prefer to work less, even if it meant less money.
Most employers said there were no barriers to them offering flexible working arrangements. The key barriers the remaining employers did perceive concerned “the type of work needing everyone at work at the same time” and “the complication from having such work arrangements”. Finding real and sustainable solutions for these problems is a real possibility.
Those workers with care responsibilities appear to have slightly different needs. They generally have poorer work-life balance, use different work-life working arrangements, and while they too want both flexibility and additional leave, they also want to be able to use their leave differently, by taking it in small chunks to attend to other things, or in larger chunks, such as having school holidays off. Maori employees want these initiatives too; however, they also want more input into how many hours they work and when these hours are worked.
Next steps? Within the Workplace Project, where the Department of Labour is working with a group of employers to trial tailored work-life initiatives, a number of companies are grappling with how they deliver flexible work arrangements. These will provide useful examples for other workplaces in the future. Two of the trials include nurses and the police, two of the occupations that face the most serious work-life conflict.
However, the results contained in this report indicate that there is no one solution for the problem of work-life conflict, and everyone has a role to play in making it easier to balance work and other things outside of life. Employers face much of this responsibility, particularly with regard to the degree of flexibility they offer to staff. However, helping staff achieve work-life balance remains a joint responsibility. A key factor that makes work-life balance harder for more than half of the survey respondents is the “expectations and attitudes of colleagues and workmates”. This is not something that any one party can solve; rather it suggests that we all have a stake – and a role to play – in helping New Zealanders achieve balanced lives. [table of contents]
REFERENCES
- Ministry of Social Development (2006). Work, Family and Parenting Study: Research Findings.
- The Appendices for this report are available from the Department of Labour’s Work-life Balance website (www.dol.govt.nz/worklife) or in hard copy from the Department of Labour, call 0800 20 90 20.
- 2001 census data, as cited in Callister, P. (2004). The future of work within households: Understanding household-level changes in the distribution of hours of paid work. Department of Labour.