But according to the productivity stats, we work hard and we worked dumb - like good, solid oxen.
We put our necks under the yolks and we trudge up and down our respective paddocks, but our output simply doesn't match our input.
The Productivity Commission released a report earlier this month and it shows that we work more hours per week than any other country in the OECD, but we are only 68 percent as productive.
So we work way more and can barely make it to a B- in terms of productivity - this wasn't always the case. New Zealand's economy has gone from being one of the most productive, to one of the least productive in the OECD.
That's not all on us. I mean, other countries have caught up and superseded us, but we haven't kept pace and we have dropped further and further behind.
Working more hours and putting more people into work has been the main way that production and income have grown over the last decades. And why productivity matters, is that it matters for the national well-being.
So where are the companies? How do you become more productive? I imagine at the moment it's just a sheer hard grind doing what you do, without looking to refine, improve, streamline.
It's been a grind for the past three years and trying to find those highly skilled employees has also been difficult. There's a small pool of them, they get snapped up and it becomes a bidding war.
But for New Zealand Inc. to do better, to be able to afford all the luxuries that we did take for granted.
We were a productive and efficient economy, so we were used to a standard of living that has slipped and dropped.
We work blooming hard, everybody agrees with that, but we're not working smart. How do we change that?
Kerre McIvor, is a journalist, radio presenter, author and columnist. Currently hosts the Kerre Woodham mornings show on Newstalk ZB where this article was sourced
So we work way more and can barely make it to a B- in terms of productivity - this wasn't always the case. New Zealand's economy has gone from being one of the most productive, to one of the least productive in the OECD.
That's not all on us. I mean, other countries have caught up and superseded us, but we haven't kept pace and we have dropped further and further behind.
Working more hours and putting more people into work has been the main way that production and income have grown over the last decades. And why productivity matters, is that it matters for the national well-being.
So where are the companies? How do you become more productive? I imagine at the moment it's just a sheer hard grind doing what you do, without looking to refine, improve, streamline.
It's been a grind for the past three years and trying to find those highly skilled employees has also been difficult. There's a small pool of them, they get snapped up and it becomes a bidding war.
But for New Zealand Inc. to do better, to be able to afford all the luxuries that we did take for granted.
We were a productive and efficient economy, so we were used to a standard of living that has slipped and dropped.
We work blooming hard, everybody agrees with that, but we're not working smart. How do we change that?
Kerre McIvor, is a journalist, radio presenter, author and columnist. Currently hosts the Kerre Woodham mornings show on Newstalk ZB where this article was sourced
3 comments:
Investment in technology. However this requires two things, firstly an educated workforce. Secondly no easy access to cheap immigrant labour.
Sadly neither of these are likely. We refuse to educate our children and we flood the country with unskilled workers.
Stop kidding ourselves we work hard . We generally do not. Check the cellphone and facebook daily usage.
Turning up for employment and wages is one thing but actually being worth it is another .
A productive person is one who needs to have a fill on if unfortunately sick or a bereavement . Any one who can catch up tomorrow is unproductive because yesterday they were NOT actually required
Educated people leaving NZ could in part explain why NZ is not productive - the brains and skills are moving overseas. Paying to educate someone to work in Austrailia the US or elsewhere is defeat.
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