[Scibby]

Is it likely we would be able to work from home one or more days a week in NZ? In the Washington DC area it is fairly common in office settings, depending on the type of position and organization. (i.e., Managers/directors - yes; administrative assistants - no.).

Do NZ office employers traditionally offer flexible work schedules (e.g., 7am-3pm) or other alternative work schedule options for full-time positions?

Obviously, the final answer will depend on the employer, but we are trying to gauge if teleworking and alternative hours are commonplace in the NZ work culture.

Thanks!

[SarahEDH]

Hi Scibby -- I saw a fair amount of telecommuting at IBM (in Petone, near WGTN). It seemed pretty well entrenched rather than a new trend sweeping the company. It was limited, like 1 - 2 days a week at the most, but that made a big difference to the folks living way up the Kapiti Coast.

Sarah

[miep]

In my experience it's fairly limited. I can, for a maximum of 1 day a week but don't always do it. I think it's getting more common though and possibly more accepted in IT.

[Wooly_Cow]

I agree with Miep....pretty limited. One issue is that broadband is not as available, cheap or reliable as in the countries. Mobile costs are also high. So the basics for teleworking are not as good as elsewhere.....also don't forget commuting is no where near the trouble or time of other places in the world, except perhaps Auckland.

[chocolate cake]

I agree with Miep....pretty limited. One issue is that broadband is not as available, cheap or reliable as in the countries. Mobile costs are also high. So the basics for teleworking are not as good as elsewhere.....also don't forget commuting is no where near the trouble or time of other places in the world, except perhaps Auckland.

Broadband's reliable enough to work from home here in Auckland, but I get the impression it (WFH) is not very common at all in NZ. Auckland's traffic is as bad and worse than many places in the world, certainly worse than places I've worked in the UK. Bareable as I commute in by bike, but that's a dangerous thing with NZ drivers.

[M-Squared]

I worked for IBM for years in the US, and 7 of those were from home. Here, I actually really enjoy my commute and seeing my coworkers every day. However, where I work now we're bringing in flexible working. The problem with IBM is that pretty much every machine had a different setup. Where I am now, it's very much standardised and we're bringing in webmail once we're sure of the security.