New Ways of Working: Changing Labour Markets in 21st Century New Zealand

Abstract

The late twentieth century heralded some significant changes in the nature of production and ownership in the New Zealand economy as well as labour market regulation and the employment contract. By the turn of the century, various forms of non-standard employment had begun to edge out what had constituted standard work through the mid-part of the century. Salaried or waged work which occurred in a five day working week and which involved an expectation of ongoing employment in an industry or occupation over a working life dominated from the late 1940s until the substantial economic changes that occurred from the mid-1980s. Increasingly, a variety of non-standard forms of work — part-time, contract, temporary, casual, portfolio — grew in significance as more New Zealanders engaged in the labour market via these forms of employment. This raised questions about the nature of labour market engagement: (good’ versus ‘bad’ jobs); the precariousness of employment; returns on labour; the effects of these new forms of work on particular groups (youth, ethnic minorities, women); whether entry into the labour market via non-standard options contributed to labour market scarring; and whether the nature of the engagement was a matter of choice or a forced option. In many respects, these questions remain unanswered in a New Zealand context, as does the issue of whether the labour market reforms of the 1980s and 1990s has produced the intended flexible workforce or provided economic benefits, especially given poor labour productivity and the impacts of low waged work on individuals and households.