Thursday, October 30, 2003
Working harder but not smarter?
Despite the optimistic predictions in the 1960s and 70s that the new century would be a golden age of leisure, many New Zealanders say that they are working harder and longer than ever.
How bad is overwork in New Zealand and what are the trends? The recently published Work Trends report by the Department of Labour says that the proportion of employed people who work the standard 40-hour week has fallen from 35% to 30% in the past 15 years. Over the same time period, the share of people working part-time (0–29 hours) has jumped from 17% to 23%. And the proportion of people who work 60-plus hours per week has edged up from 8% to 9%.
Labour Day was created to celebrate the introduction of the 40-hour working week — a social achievement of the mid 19th century — and one which New Zealand workers were among the first in the world to attain. But Labour Day in this new century is starting to take on a new message: it is becoming a focus for debate on the “time poverty� of our modern life and work styles. And it is becoming a day for us to reconsider the “work-life balance� that was once characteristic of a New Zealand way of life.
The fight for a “work-life balance� is once again becoming an important cultural and political issue for New Zealanders. An online publication, The Jobs Letter looks at local issues and international trends which are shaping this debate over “taking back� our time.
Despite the optimistic predictions in the 1960s and 70s that the new century would be a golden age of leisure, many New Zealanders say that they are working harder and longer than ever.
How bad is overwork in New Zealand and what are the trends? The recently published Work Trends report by the Department of Labour says that the proportion of employed people who work the standard 40-hour week has fallen from 35% to 30% in the past 15 years. Over the same time period, the share of people working part-time (0–29 hours) has jumped from 17% to 23%. And the proportion of people who work 60-plus hours per week has edged up from 8% to 9%.
Labour Day was created to celebrate the introduction of the 40-hour working week — a social achievement of the mid 19th century — and one which New Zealand workers were among the first in the world to attain. But Labour Day in this new century is starting to take on a new message: it is becoming a focus for debate on the “time poverty� of our modern life and work styles. And it is becoming a day for us to reconsider the “work-life balance� that was once characteristic of a New Zealand way of life.
The fight for a “work-life balance� is once again becoming an important cultural and political issue for New Zealanders. An online publication, The Jobs Letter looks at local issues and international trends which are shaping this debate over “taking back� our time.
