Planning to work in New Zealand? It’s important to understand the work style of the country and how the workplace operates. Every country is different when it comes to how they like to work, so how do you fit in successfully in the workplace in New Zealand.

One of the first things to know is that employers in New Zealand value a positive attitude in the workplace, they’ll be looking for employees who are excited to contribute their own ideas and feedback in the workplace. New Zealand is known for being a country of pioneers and problem solvers. For a small country, New Zealand is often well ahead and always looking for new ideas and ways to do things.

One thing to expect from working in New Zealand is that you will likely work in much small organisations, many of New Zealand’s business have less than fourteen employees and are much smaller than businesses in countries like the United States.

In New Zealand companies with less than 20 employees are responsible for around 40% of the economic output of the country. The much smaller businesses means that New Zealand has a very unique working life compared to other countries. Employees often have more direct access to the leaders of their business which means they can have more of an ability to influence things in the organisation. There are also often less organisation layers to worry about, which means that employees have a larger and more important role to play in the business. Workers in smaller business often find that they are asked to specialise less in one small area and take on a greater variety of tasks. New Zealand is an excellent place for people to start out as it offers hands on opportunities to workers.

A new Wellington-based company called Sharesies is helping young Kiwi’s to begin their investment journey. The company is also known for its excellent workplace culture and environment. The company offers its 28 staff flexible and remote working opportunities and uses a number of modern tools to help them stay connected, even when they aren’t all in the office together.

The company has shown how small organisations in New Zealand can get the best from their employees by making flexibility an integral part of their culture. The flexible and remote work culture is part of every employees contract from the time of their initial induction – the specific flexible working arrangements are determined by the needs of the individual employee. Remote work opportunities give employees a chance to focus on the things that are important to them outside of the workplace. The company also invests into team building exercises and a social clubs as well as monthly lunches to ensure that team members feel connected and build strong relationships with each other.

Another important feature of Sharesies’ work culture is the focus on mental health. The company offers and employee assistance programme and has a number of mental health professional on site to ensure the mental health of employees is well looked after. Every employee also gets two days of ‘wellness leave’ to help them look after their mental health needs. The company’s wellness initiatives are having a measurable and positive impact on the work environment with the company noticing reduced absenteeism and improved staff satisfaction. Employees have spoken positively about the company, acknowledging that it is a fun and social environment and saying that they feel safe and comfortable to discuss mental health in the workplace or comfortable and supported even in times of stress.