People & Culture

At home or in the office, workplace fun isn’t a one-size-fits-all affair – leaders need to acknowledge that and offer a safe environment, according to a University of Auckland study. Working from home one or more days per week has become a norm for many employees post-Covid; how has this shift affected the ways workers have fun? Business School researchers Associate Professor Barbara Plester (pictured) and Senior Lecturer Rhiannon Lloyd explore fun in hybrid work and psychological safety in their article Happiness Is ‘Being Yourself’: Psychological Safety and Fun in Hybrid Work. Based on in-depth interviews with workers from two companies, the study finds that fun activities shouldn’t be uniformly enforced or encouraged by workplaces; instead, a nuanced understanding of

A business owner hopes to improve New Zealand’s woeful productivity performance with a new training programme, utilising neuroscience to help Kiwis work smarter, not harder. New Zealand has one of the worst levels of productivity and growth compared to other countries in the OECD, according to the country’s Productivity Commission. Per person, our income is only about 70 percent of that in countries that perform in the top half of the OECD, it says. However, Nat Milne, an Auckland business owner, HR and people specialist, and mother of two wants to help change that. She is introducing a new scientifically-backed productivity training programme, called Beminded, to New Zealand workplaces. Milne has partnered with the Swedish founder of Beminded, to launch

Laurence McLean offers tips on ways to keep team morale high if Christmas parties need to be pared back, as well as how to meet WH&S obligations for any parties going ahead. 2023 has been a year of many challenges for SMEs and their workforce. So how can businesses boost staff morale amidst today’s cost-of-living woes? Christmas work parties provide employers the perfect opportunity to showcase their appreciation for their employees, says Laurence McLean (pictured below). “Maintaining high employee morale doesn’t necessarily mean a big spend is needed. If employers have previously asked staff to cover their own expenses; they could consider covering the costs this year to promote staff engagement. If that is not financially feasible, employers can explore budget

The demand for biophilic elements such as green walls is soaring in New Zealand as employers strive to make working from the office better than home. This is particularly so as companies downsize physical office spaces or accommodate a more remote workforce. Simon Chamberlain (pictured), director of GreenAir, an Auckland-based Green Design company, said companies need ‘culture’, which is hard to build when most of the staff are working from home. This is particularly true at a time when company culture (shared values, belief systems and attitudes) is so important to achieving the organisation’s strategic objectives. “In today’s dynamic work environment, companies are cutting down on office space by 25 percent or more, renegotiating leases to accommodate smaller teams, and