Everybody agrees that job hunting sucks. But has it become worse? The hoops employers are making their would-be employees go through are becoming kind of incredible. Here unemployed, under-employed and employed share their jobseeker horror stories. Anonymously, obviously – because they need a job. I was called in for an interview with a media monitoring … Read more
Is the freelance dream souring? Victoria Crockford finds insecurity abounds inside the gig economy, and argues we need to make sure rights are not lost with the rise of flexible work. ‘Got Paid’, ‘Went Outside’, ‘Remembered to Eat!!’, cheerfully quipped some of the ‘freelance achievement stickers’ designed by Jeremy Nguyen for the New Yorker recently. … Read more
Thirty years of economic reform and the gap between Māori and Pākehā employment rates is wider than ever, says business columnist Joshua Hitchcock. I have never experienced unemployment. Since graduating in 2007 I have always found a job when I wanted one. That is not to say I have always worked these past 10 years. … Read more
Unemployed, Madison Hamill decided to take control of her future and become a supermodel. But instead, she found herself on the fringes of New Zealand’s modelling industry. “Inhale. Imagine your womb opening like a flower.” I opened one eye to squint. But she had her eyes closed, a lilac buddha, apparently capable of unironic serenity. … Read more
The Aussies earn on average one-third more than Kiwis, and in some countries the gap is even wider. Data scientist and mathematician John Holt crunches the numbers. New Zealand is a low-wage economy compared to other OECD countries. When a currency’s buying power is taken into consideration, New Zealand ranked 18th out of 36 OECD … Read more
With one side calling it a working class win and the other fearing a return to the 1970s, Jihee Junn attempts to separate fact from fiction when it comes to Labour’s Fair Pay Agreements. Earlier this year, former Labour leader Andrew Little got up on stage at E tū union’s Auckland headquarters to share his … Read more
Whangarei writer Michael Botur describes how the shit jobs he’s had have provided valuable material for his new collection of short stories, Lowlife. It was hard moving to Northland in 2015 and finding income and inspiration in its very small economy. I laboured on the catamaran of a rich lawyer with obvious plastic surgery. He … Read more
A UMR nationwide survey suggests that New Zealanders are remarkably complacent about the threat new technology poses to their job security, writes UMR executive director Stephen Mills. If there’s one takeaway message from our nationwide survey of attitudes to work, it’s that Kiwis are largely unconcerned – at least for now – about the threats … Read more
A dark advertisement for a dairy assistant in South Canterbury promised accommodation sharing with rodents, minimum wage, and drug tests. Josh Drummond applied for the role, and investigated what the classified says about the New Zealand dairy industry today. It may not be what you’d think. It started, as so many things do in New Zealand, … Read more
A financial adviser has recommended young Kiwis give up their dreams and pursue something economically realistic. Derek Handley, part of the panel of futurists on TVNZ’s What Next, says we should all ignore her advice. The adventure of creating a life worth living is a visceral and human rite of passage. It shouldn’t be driven … Read more
To finally get to our dream jobs at The Spinoff, our staff have been through some pretty terrible employment. From flagrant sexism to gagging on fur balls from beard clippings, we at The Spinoff were exploited and used by our former employers. But now you don’t have to suffer the indignity that we endured, because … Read more
Young jobseekers complain they are being made to work long hours for free in hopes of securing a job that never eventuates. Chris Godfrey reports. In January, Wellington student Maya Russell completed a trial at Leuven Belgium Beer Cafe in the central city, for which she says she was told she would be paid. Nearly … Read more
New Zealand has had legally-mandated equal pay for women since 1972 but, as the new Treat Her Right campaign makes clear, we still have far to go to reach true pay equality. Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw explains why the economic imbalance between genders is about a lot more than just equal pay for equal work. Last … Read more
News that the Ministry of Justice spent $23,000 on five internal videos, including one featuring staff lip-synching to a Justin Timberlake hit, has caused the usual sputtering about wasteful government spending. Kathryn van Beek can’t stop the feeling that Timbergate isn’t actually a story. When you’re organising an employee engagement activity for public servants, the … Read more
We wanted to better understand the changing New Zealand economy, and who better to explain it than superstar economist Shamubeel Eaqub. This is the fourth of six short videos featuring Shamubeel giving it to us straight while sitting comfortably in a classic Kiwi chair. This time he responds to the ever-present fear that technology will … Read more
We wanted to better understand the changing New Zealand economy, and who better to explain it than superstar economist Shamubeel Eaqub. Below, the third of six short videos featuring Shamubeel giving it to us straight while sitting comfortably in a classic Kiwi chair. This time he’s explaining the changing way New Zealanders work while perched … Read more
In this week’s advice column: how to deal with losing your job without losing your shit. Dear Ms X I think I might be about to be made redundant and I am basically shitting myself. I am 29 and this would be the second lay off I have been through if it actually happens. I … Read more
It’s late on a Friday afternoon and the weekend beckons – what better time to test your knowledge of occupations and employment in New Zealand? Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here.
Working hard or hardly working? A look at who isn’t participating in the labour force, and why. Inspired by the Real Housewives of Auckland, this week’s charts from Figure.NZ provide an insight into the real lives of New Zealand’s ‘housewives’ and others not in paid work. Want to know more? Check out Figure.NZ.
“Machines will eventually take 100% of our jobs, so we can all relax, a little,” wrote Oliver Carlé on The Spinoff last week. James Robins, for one, is not placated. The scene is a humble neighbourhood supermarket at dusk. Between the searing light above and the linoleum sheen below, you stand holding a desultory wine … Read more
Time to face facts – artificial intelligence will transform our world. Oliver Carlé, for one, is ready to welcome our new robot overlords. A month ago the NZ Herald ran the hair-raising headline “The robots are coming, should we be worried?” Under it were some alarming stats, like an Oxford University study suggesting 47% of … Read more
Working for free has long been accepted as a near-unavoidable first step in a career in media, politics or the arts. But when you’re working for months on end for little or no reward, when does paying your dues become exploitation? Sasha Borissenko reports. NB: the Spinoff has chosen not to name the participants speaking … Read more
Hello Caller is our new advice column in which psychotherapist Ms. X answers readers’ questions on manners, morals and mental health. This week, Ms. X tackles the procrastination-guilt-procrastination shame spiral. Dear Ms X. I am really struggling with motivation at work. On the outside, I really enjoy my job, but when it comes down to … Read more
‘Business is Boring’ is a new weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound will speak with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and text. This week: career specialist and eParachute co-founder Gary Bolles. Failure. Disruption. Start-up. Portfolio. … Read more