Lines blurred between work, home
Workers are increasingly blurring the lines between work and home, according to a social media poll conducted by recruitment agency Frog Recruitment.
In the poll, 46.3 per cent of the respondents said they were working more hours than they did before the Covid-19 pandemic and of those, two-thirds said they were not being paid for those extra hours.
Frog Recruitment general manager Shannon Barlow said the impact of the blurred lines was particularly felt by women.
Recent research from the United Nations found that women were also working more in unpaid childcare after the pandemic, she said.
‘‘They are not just playing the caregiver, but they are putting the teacher’s hat on as well. It’s an extra thing that makes this time even harder.’’
Working longer for less was a hangover from the new way people had to learn to work during the lockdowns and had ‘‘serious implications’’ for employees’ mental health and burnout, Barlow said.
The poll should be a warning for employers, who risked losing their top staff to more lucrative roles as the job market increasingly faced a skills shortage, she said.
‘‘Last year was extraordinary in many ways and while it could have been acceptable at that time to have your people work longer hours, this should not be the status quo.
‘‘The main risk right now is that some employees have maintained these hours, and employers may not be aware of this, or worse, are taking for granted their overtime.’’
Not being paid for work hours could lead to resentment and a loss of trust towards management, she said.
However, not all of the responsibility sat with employers, she said.
In many cases workers were not being forced to work extra hours, but were working longer when they were at home. ‘‘Working from home they may find themselves staying logged in longer and more often, especially with increased pressure to perform.’’ Barlow said employers should check in regularly with their staff and possibly create a plan to manage hours and responsibilities. More than 40 per cent of employed people did at least some of their work from home during the lockdown at Covid-19 alert levels 4 and 3 in April and early May, according to Stats NZ.
By December, that number had dipped to 29.1 per cent.
A University of Otago study of 2e595 New Zealanders working from home during last year’s lockdown found that 35 per cent of respondents were concerned about switching off from work at the end of the day.
At the same time, researchers Dr Paula O’Kane, Dr Sara Walton and Dr Diane Ruwhiu found that 20 per cent of respondents said it was harder to work from home.
Meanwhile, 67 per cent said they found it easy or somewhat easy.
According to the study, 35 per cent of participants said their productivity was similar working at home, while 38 per cent found themselves to be more productive.