Is the future of work here?
A return to the office but not as we know it.
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Tuesday, April 19, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: Concern over serviceability stress; church pastor steps aside; the PM in Singapore; but first, is the future of work here for some?
Man’s best friend enjoys the benefits of hybrid work. (Image: Getty)
The call to return to offices may go unanswered.
Now we’re in orange – the Easter break providing a good change to reset – it’s expected that office workers will return to workplaces around the country, many for the first time since the delta outbreak in August last year. But after two years of remote working, people may not be as keen to heed the call, prompting Skills Consulting Group’s Jane Kennelly to tell RNZ that this may “actually dictate our future working style for years to come”.
Hybrid work may overtake “working from home” or “flexible work” in our employment lexicon.
Hybrid work is the splitting of your work time between home and office. Offices may now require a reason to exist beyond providing a place to sit and work, something people have managed to do quite well from home over the last two years without losing precious time to a commute. CBDs may struggle without the return of pre-pandemic worker populations, while suburbs thrive, as detailed in this report from the NZ Herald (paywalled), which is part of a series called “The Great Hybrid Return to Work”. I myself am beginning a great hybrid return to work, coming into an actual office, after nearly four years of freelancing and working from home. I like the idea. I can work quietly at home in the mornings, hunched over a coffee, and then do an off peak commute to the Spinoff to actually speak to people and get a sense of what’s going on beyond my screen.
Offices to stay but only used when it suits.
Victoria Mulligan drills into the choice employers are facing in an opinion piece for BusinessDesk about whether to demand that people return to the office because that’s what worked before the pandemic, or accept that opportunities lie in teaming up with workers to design the future of work. She argues the office won’t disappear but will instead be used for the right purpose - getting together to collaborate and a being place people choose to be - while new tools like Zoom for video calling and Slack for work messaging actually create a more equitable workplace by giving those who don’t ‘play the game’ or have loud office personalities, the chance to be heard better.
No change for the essential.
There is some irony in all this. The workforces we’ve come to label as “essential”, life stripped back to necessities during lockdowns, are not likely to benefit from this transformation. Those we praised and applauded are not being granted the luxury of reassessing their priorities or how they spend their time. It presents a fork in the road. In the Guardian last week, Julia Hobsbawm posited that where we once labeled ourselves as “white collar” or “blue collar”, the distinction may now be “hybrid have” or “hybrid have-not” worker instead. Some of us will enjoy a better work/life balance through hybrid work which may assist employers in retaining staff in a tight labour market, while for others, better pay and conditions remains the essential carrot to dangle.
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Founding pastor at Arise Church steps aside.
David Farrier brought allegations of abuse and assault at Arise Church, a large penticoastal church, to light two weeks ago in his Webworm newsletter. He’s stayed on the story, providing updates of his dealings with the church as they attempted to respond. On Thursday, One News reported that the church was launching an independent inquiry into the allegations. By Sunday most media were reporting that founding pastor John Cameron had resigned from the board of Arise and stepped back from his pastoral duties while the independent review was under way. The church said Cameron “remains an important part of the Arise family”.
Reserve Bank concerned about serviceability stress.
In research released to the NZ Herald under the OIA, detailed in this report from Thomas Coughlan, the Reserve Bank is concerned that “as many as half (49%) of the people who bought their first home last year during the market peak could face ‘serviceability stress’ if interest rates hit 6%”. Some rates are already getting close to that. Those who bought recently may have read about higher interest rates for a few months now, but it’s something else again to experience it and find an extra $1500 a month in the household budget.
The prime minister lands in Singapore.
After departing Whenuapai yesterday morning, prime minister Jacinda Ardern, trade minister Damien O’Connor and a 12 person trade delegation have landed in Singapore. RNZ’s Craig McCulloch detailed the run-up to the overseas trip, the prime minister's first in nearly 800 days. It’s also the first trip like this in a while for the parliamentary press pack. Henry Cooke from Stuff was the first cab off the rank, filing en route to Singapore from Cairns yesterday, suggesting we will see a more business-friendly Ardern this week, as she begins the job of selling New Zealand to the world again.
The ultimate pollutant muddies the water.
In a great feature for Stuff, Charlie Mitchell looks at a debate that’s raging in the science community about the impact of nitrates in our drinking water that’s become political. Some scientists are concerned that nitrates in drinking water can cause bowel cancer while others, including a colorectal surgeon, don’t think it’s physically possible. Rural and anti-dairy lobby groups have both picked up on the issue. As Mitchell points out, if nitrates in drinking water are causing bowel cancer, it will be a costly problem to fix. If they aren’t, there’s a risk this debate will distract from doing what we can about proven contributors to bowel cancer.
Student media fire power on sauce fine Alt: An apology to Critic Te Arohi.
Student media gives plenty of journalists their start but it’s also sometimes where stories kick off. This was the case with the “sauce fine” story that ran in Thursday's Bulletin which cited the Otago Daily Times. We were politely contacted by Critic Te Arohi, the magazine of the Otago University Students' Association, to point out that they broke the story, which resulted in the fine being withdrawn for Flynn Sharrock. They’ve followed up too, uncovering further saucy details of more students being issued $300 fines from Night ‘n Day. I’d like to apologise to Fox and the team at Critic Te Arohi for this oversight and will ensure links to all student media homepages are bookmarked for regular reading.
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz
Alex Casey meets the culinary genius behind ‘90s ice cream sensation Dessertalicious; Airana Ngarewa laments the tragedy of being Māori but unable to sing: Felix Walton finds out why getting assessed for ADHD is so hard in New Zealand; Naomii Seah reports on the shocking state of student flats; and Toby Manhire talks to Viv Beck about her Auckland mayoral ambitions and what’s gone wrong in the CBD.
Black Ferns coach resigns.
Black Ferns coach Glenn Moore announced his resignation on Saturday following the release of the findings of a review into the Black Ferns culture and environment last Monday. Stuff’s Richard Knowler kicks off the commentary on who might replace him.