Why Why Why Aotearoa?

I’m going to start this by saying, I love New Zealand. You can usually find me in the nearest Bunnings, questioning if “she’ll be right” regarding a garden tool before racing home to enjoy a hangi pie washed down by a tall glass of Raro. I was beside myself last week when Patrick Tuipulotu needlessly spilled the ball allowing England a scrum 10m out with minutes to go. I like my cars parked in one direction and my radio shows with swear words. I’ve gone native and at the risk of coming across a little John Smithy, I’ve bagged myself a Kiwi wife and we made a cute wee Kiwi son. So, heaps of aroha for Aotearoa, got it? Good! Why am I laying it on thick like so much Vegemite? Well, I’m about to unpack some harsh truths, and like the driest Kiwi pavlova, this will be hard to swallow.

Back in May, I blogged about the record number of Kiwis that have wished NZ a “later bo” and gapped it to AUS or UK. The shocking statistic for me was for every Kiwi that returned home, three left. I don’t want to rehash why Kiwis are Ka Kiteing in record numbers, I want to explore why people would choose to come here from overseas. When I landed in Christchurch in 2013, I was one of many ex-pats/immigrants who sought out NZ as a new home. You look at the numbers now and to quote the legendary Christchurch rapper Scribe, how many people are coming? “Not many, if any” Covid had its part to play, not simply by restricting air travel, but by its adverse effect on brand NZ. If you cast your mind back, NZ was initially heralded as the darling of the Covid response. We shut up shop pronto and played by the rules. As a reward for our diligence, we got to play outside. I could give two about the Auckland Blues, but I was one of the thousands who went to Eden Park after that first lockdown. The world looked on as we were joyously enjoying being free-range humans. Then from frolicking to bollocking, we were told to get back indoors and stay there. The world was used to this image of a chill NZ, instead we came across a touch of draconian. We were all sending communications back home that mirrored Lisa’s letter from Kamp Krusty, revealing that what we thought we were getting wasn’t true.

Historically, NZ has always had two major drawcards; safety and work-life balance. Unfortunately, the last couple of years have ripped those cards to shreds. Firstly, work-life balance. Many businesses have been on struggle street for the past wee while and when times are tight you are either obliged to be at work or you can’t afford to take time away. When there are heaps of fish in the sea you can tie a line to your big toe and snooze the day away. However, during droughts, you grip that rod with both hands and never take your eyes off the water. Secondly, safety. I’m not going to pretend that I used to keep my door unlocked but it does seem like things have got a bit more R18 recently, especially in Auckland. I’m in Commercial Bay and I can think of at least two fatal shootings that took place within minutes of the PWC. Some fella stabbed a stranger on the bus the other week and when the disappearance of a British backpacker is made into a Netflix documentary you don’t have a safe leg to stand on.

So what’s to be done? I don’t know if a frothy bi-weekly recruitment blog will act as the metaphorical daisy in the rifle and bring about a new peace movement. I do think we as an industry can do better on the work-life balance front. A lot of agencies have reverted to a bums-on-seats model and the recruiters I’ve been speaking to have grown a little frustrated. One of the biggest flexes I have seen in recent times was at the AFT last month. An agency had a cheering section made up of colleagues who weren’t participating but were able to take time away from the office to support. On the other hand, a few agencies concluded a Friday afternoon spent away from the phones sends the wrong type of message. As a whole NZ needs to readjust and put more emphasis back on life rather than work. Easier said than done I know but this time of year morale can be low the pressure to bill is coupled with the pressure to buy with Christmas on the horizon. But the collective cutting of slack could lead to a boost in our brand on the global stage and return us to our OMC, LOTR, YOLO type days.