The Truth of Work Life Balance in New Zealand
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- čas přidán 29. 08. 2024
- Hello everyone,
Sorry about the delay on posting. As some of you know, Charlotte had double ear infection and Daniel had the flu. We are back though and in today's video we talk about work life balance and what we have learned about it. We hope you enjoy!
SIncerely,
The Foley Family
Full time work is 30+ hours per week here in NZ.
When l was working as a single mum, l worked 30 hours per week so l had more time with the kids.
Also, because l worked 30 hours min per week; l qualified for the low income subsidy from the government.
This subsidy increased my income to a level where l could afford to pay rent, bills, food, etc, while having quality time with my family.
Yeah the flu this year was absolutely brutal, it laid my family out flat for a week. Covid lasted a day or 2 and was nowhere NEAR as bad as the flu was. Thank goodness for the vaccine. :)
Glad you're enjoying your work/life balance here in Aotearoa
Employer matching is up to 3%. Some employers do 4%, some 9%. But that is voluntary for employer to pay more.
Australia pay 10%, and it is going up to 12% employer contributions.
I hope you are all feeling much better very soon. Just a quick comment regarding Kiwisaver. It's designed for retirement but I think I heard you say something about taking it out whenever you want. I don't think that's case. If you put thirty thousand in there, it stays there until you retire. There are certain conditions that need to be meet before you can draw on it. One reason is that it can help to buy a first home and another is extreme hardship. It's fairly strict and it is not that easy to access before you are 65 years old. You can add extra if you want to, but you cannot get it out again until you are 65.
Absolutely spot on.
U.S. Is well known for its long work hours and unpaid vacation time. Yes universal health care is a major advantage. Americans get told it's Socialist. Yet much of its not!!I'm Australian and much of negative information what Americans are told is not true!!
In most professional industries in New Zealand (to attract and retain staff) they offer 4x 10 hr days, you pick which day off you want, also most jobs offer Hybrid - work from home and work in an office, you pick what ratio and when. Smaller populations, tight labour markets, better working conditions.
Be safe and well family,and welcome to new Zealand
Please don’t feel guilty about taking more time off for nasty infections like that. Flu, covid, EBV and other viruses can cause serious long-term health issues when people push themselves to go back to work too soon. It’s perfectly acceptable in NZ to take 5-10 working days off if you are really unwell.
Kiwisaver is intended for the long haul. You can only take your funds out when you are 65. Or you can sometimes take some of funds out to buy a first home. I would imagine you could also get to your money should you ever decide to permanently leave New Zealand.
You can also use it when purchasing your first home,
Oh poor baby. Our daughter was always sick like that and had to get Grommets put in at Aucklands Starship Hospital, made a huge improvement. If you go to Rotorua, you might like the night time forest tree climb.
Beautiful indeed, in NZ it's all about work life balance, if your sick they truly prefer you to take time off and get better.
They really don't drive you to the ground.
Great information 😊
Kiwisaver is locked in. Once you put the money in it cant be withdrawn unless you are buying your first house. Other than that it can only be withdrawn at retirement age.
Unless financial hardship occurs
It is polite if you don’t come to work with your sickness. You work friends will appreciate it.
Watch for kiwi saver by and large you can’t take it out till your are 65 (when the universal pension cuts in) but I believe there are some things you can take your money out for - check out the fine print - but yes its a great scheme. There’s also the great annual leave here most places 3-5 weeks a year , plus a couple of weeks sick leave and around 13 public holidays !!
Great video guys, the weather’s warming up 21c here today, the East coast up your way is going to be hot 🥵
Kai Ora, the government will also contribute up $512 to your kiwi saver annually. Also I think most kiwis work up to 40 hours or more a week but we get 4 weeks holidays annually. I must say because of covid I am working less hours and I am enjoying the extra time I have.Keep well folks take care.
Thanks for the update on how things over there
Get well guys get well Charlotte air problems aren't nice
Family time is important, free healthcare is assurance not insurance in N.Z.
Government were proposing to work 4 day week. have 3 day weekend ...
KiwiSaver can’t be taken out whenever you want. It’s extremely hard to get out unless you’re 65. Can be used for your 1st home and financial hardship but they make you jump thru hoops to get it.I’m a kiwi self employed and won’t touch KiwiSaver. I guess it’s a bit different when you are your employer who has to contribute. My money works better for me in my hands than a retirement fund investment wise
Hi Gav. I'm saying this in the kindest possible way BUT... you are misunderstanding KiwiSaver. Even if you, as your own employer, decline to contribute, You as an individual would be making approx 50% return on your yearly contribution of the maximum (for the Govt benefit) of approx $1,020. Up to about 75% per year if you include an employer contribution. This is ANNUALLY! Plus I haven't even added in the extra returns from the Fund Manager de3aling with your account. Even the most useless fund managers make a positive return over a period of years. Are you seriously telling me that you make more than a 75% return PER YEAR on your own investments? I admit I'm just talking of the amount invested per year and not the total principal but... seriously?
Something you missed mentioning it holiday pay is 4 weeks per year paid hourly as a percentage so after your first week you will have earned 3hrs holiday pay. Plus 10 days sick pay & 11 public holidays that is 41 guaranteed paid time off by law. The US has zero days its all at the discretion of your employer
It's not holiday pay holiday pay is plus 8% what you talking about is annual leave & sick leave yes annual leave is 4 weeks & sick leave is 10 days plus 11 days public holidays
have you visited the top of Mt Te Aroha yet, n surfed at Raglan beach?
Welcome to Spring n Alergies, get lots of hestimine,
i moved from Hamilton to Auckland,
use your sick leave,
DO NOT do KiwiSaver as an American citizen without sorting things out with an accountant first. I’ve heard horror stories of people having to pay $2k per year to fill out the forms for the IRS and you can’t close a KiwiSaver account once it’s open so you’re on the hook for that fee every year until you leave NZ permanently or renounce your US citizenship.
so glad you guys are doing well , nau mai ,,,,pronounced as no my,,,, so glad you can now speak Maori,,,welcome
What’s the cost of living like though? How many hours a week do you need to work to get by in NZ vs the US? In NZ that number has risen sharply. Never mind the whole culture thing… I don’t work in a “career” job so I’m never exposed to all that loyalty thing. I work 3 jobs… totalling about 40 hours at da mo but if I lose one then boo hoo I just do more Uber eats deliveries. I’ve heard NZ is less affordable than in the US but that may apply to career based jobs which are paid more over there in America. But jobs like Maccas and Uber eats are paid more in NZ so for min wage workers it’s really the higher pay in NZ vs the higher cost of living. Also the price of a batch in NZ is higher than the average home in a big American city.
Hmm most people l know work 40 hours per week sometimes 50 hours per week
Hey, how difficult or easy is it for a 14 year old to adjust?
What I don't get about the setup in America is that everyone is so dependent on their employers for their health and wellbeing. Pensions and healthcare are personal things. It's fine if an employer wants to contribute, but it makes sense to me that the individual should be the one in control.
Come to india and u will get to know about the work life balance😢
our pension is universal, its seperate from kiwisaver, its a taxed old age income, Kiwisaver is a seperate income stream,
Alot of people got this flu. Yes, it was worse than Covid. Some of us, including myself were dizzy for a few days once we got better. According to my GP, because of covid, alot of people didnt get the flu these past 2 years so this years flu strain was more brutal than usual. Then people would get the flu, think they have gotten better but then become disorientated.
I am not sure who you are talking to. I have been working for 45 years I have never regularly worked less than 45 hours. For years I was working 55 to 60 hours. This is in Aotearoa.
One thing that is different to the us is once I leave work I don't have to think about it until I go back.
With kiwi saver once the money goes in you can't take it out unless you buy your first home or retire at 65. One good thing about it is that it is yours and not linked to employment.
I thought the same thing. It could be the industry theyre in. I use to work at least 40hrs to 60hrs per week. Im currently working up to 40hours max because I currently have a job that pays well where Im not forced to work overtime nor do I need to work overtime.
I think you must work for yourself because NZ has a 40 hour working week after 40 hours you should get time and a half normally.