Employers getting it right as workers are satisfied

Most Kiwis may be satisfied wiuth their work lives, but that’s no cause for complacency for New Zealand’s employers, writes EMA’s Paul Jarvie.

It’s great to hear that the vast majority of Kiwis are happy with their work lives, showing that employers are definitely getting things right. This is no time for them to sit back though, because unless they continue to focus on key areas that make a significant contribution to their people’s satisfaction in their job, they risk losing them.

The Statistics NZ Survey of working life: 2018 of just under 10,000 people showed that 88 percent of people employed – in all sectors and business sizes – were either satisfied or very satisfied with their job. That’s impressive, as is the fact that half of employees had flexible work hours. That links directly with job satisfaction and people feeling like they have a better work/life balance.

It’s so important that employers keep working on this balance. Businesses big and small are struggling to get the people they need with the right skills to help their business grow and succeed. Letting employees vote with their feet, because employers are not in touch with what they need or willing to make it work for both parties, can result in a direct hit to productivity.

Work-related training also plays a big part in people’s satisfaction, and it was great to see in the survey that 60 percent of employees had undertaken some form of training in the previous 12 months. Health and safety training continued to be a focus of staff and manager training. There is significant cost in all training but it does pay dividends particularly in the medium and long term through staff retention and improved productivity.

“Employers need to listen, accommodate where they can and practice ‘lean’ work processes to enhance productivity and make themselves employers of choice.” 

However, it’s not just about giving people more flexibility and training opportunities but also more control in their jobs. Those who felt they had more control over how their daily work was organised, and influence on decision-making that affected their tasks, were more satisfied (41 percent) than those with lower levels of autonomy (27 percent).

It’s also interesting, if not surprising, that most employees surveyed said their work relationships were generally good, and that those people had higher levels of satisfaction in their work/life balance. Employers should take heed of the 33 percent of people who described their working relationship with colleagues as bad or very bad though, and focus more effort on the ‘team’.

As for how much difference pay makes to this equation? That’s not a question that was asked in the Statistics NZ survey, but the General Social Survey 2018 indicated that around 65 percent of Kiwis are also satisfied with how much they make. There wouldn’t be a worker in the world who wouldn’t tell you they’d like to be paid more, but it’s about what’s fair.

What wouldn’t be fair is using blanket Fair Pay Agreements to address the issues of the 12 percent of people surveyed by StatsNZ who are not satisfied with their work in New Zealand. It would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Setting minimum standards through Fair Pay Agreements will not simply lift conditions across an industry, address inequalities or raise productivity. There is a raft of other legislation already addressing pay and conditions.

One-size-fits-all is not a framework that worked for individual workers circumstances in the past and it certainly won’t work in a future that will demand increasing adaptability, constant training and flexibility to suit both workers and their employers.

What can’t be stressed enough is that even with robotics, automation and a raft of technology that will change the nature of how we work coming down the pipeline, people are still the greatest asset of every business.

Labour and labour supply will continue to tighten so the pipeline of new employees will continue diminish. If there ever was a time to get alongside staff it’s now. Employers need to listen, accommodate where they can and practice ‘lean’ work processes to enhance productivity and make themselves employers of choice. They must also look to retain and retrain staff and recruit older workers to mitigate both skill and labour shortages.

Take the time to reacquaint yourself with your people – that will always be the thing that pays you the biggest dividend and ensures your success into the future. 

Paul Jarvie (pictured) is the EMA’s manager of employment relations and safety policy. www.ema.co.nz