Work-life balance a challenge for all of us

Nurses and police officers are leading efforts to improve the balance between New Zealanders' work and personal lives.

A Department of Labour survey released yesterday found 52 per cent of New Zealanders regarded their work-life balance as good or excellent. However, 40 per cent had some or a lot of difficulty getting the balance they wanted, and 46 per cent had experienced some degree of work-life conflict.

Trials of measures such as more flexible rosters and varying hours to bring employees' work and personal lives back to an even keel have started with nurses and police - two professions in which the job often eats into workers' own time.

The report calls on employers to offer staff greater flexibility, but also emphasises that workers are often their own enemies when it comes to work-life balance: 37 per cent of workers said they regularly put in extra hours in their own time to get their work done.

"The results contained in this survey indicate that there is no one solution for the problem of work-life conflict and everyone has a role to play in making it easier to balance work and other things outside of life," the report said.

Labour Minister Ruth Dyson said better work-life balance was a challenge for all workers and greater flexibility could have dividends for employers and employees.

Flexibility would allow more people to work, increase productivity, and help industries facing skill shortages.

"Improving our work-life balance is a critical factor in increasing our quality of life and our living standards," she said.

The findings of report author Dr Lindy Fursman were based on surveys sent to employers and employees.

However, the results were issued with the rider that the low response rate meant the findings should be taken as indicative only.

One reason Dr Fursman offered for the small numbers who returned her survey: people might have been too busy to fill in the forms.

Balancing act

* 19 per cent of workers say they work more than 50 hours a week.

* 37 per cent say they often work extra hours without pay.

* 60 per cent of workers say aspects of workplace culture make a work-life balance harder to achieve.

* 74 per cent of employers say cost is not an issue in allowing flexible working arrangements.

* 55 percent of employers say there are no barriers to introducing flexible hours - but 40 per cent say they need all staff in the workplace at the same time