What really matters in the workplace?

Every year we aim for our programme at PICA's Research & Insights Forum to include the latest qualitative and quantitative research applicable to building the capability of our food & fibre sectors.

At our 2021 forum in February, PICA board member Glen Mackie (Forest Owners Association) facilitated a session featuring three highly regarded researchers - each with a different area of interest. They shared their findings to help delegates understand What Really Matters in the Workplace?

What our speakers said

• What makes a good job?
  John MacCormick, Chief Policy Analyst kaitātari matua, Ministry of Education Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga
  
  

  “Economists look for easily measurable things e.g. pay rates, but other things are important too. There’s no single measure of ‘a good job’. There are multiple dimensions to job quality.”

• The effect of job insecurity on job satisfaction
  Emeritus Professor Philip S. Morrison, Victoria University of Wellington
  
  

  “Everyone worries about job insecurity in some way but the more that people know about the level of uncertainty in their job, the less worried and more satisfied they are.”

• Workplace Safety and the Future of Work in NZ
  Professor Gail Pacheco, Professor of Economics and Director of the NZ Work Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology
  
  

  “Technological advances have not had the negative impact on our workforce that some people expected. Increased automation, a higher number of females and older people in workplaces are decreasing the likelihood of injury claims.”

What our delegates said

"It was interesting to see how we have been thinking for more than 100 years that the machines will take away jobs, just to realise once again how much more real work there is and how little can be done through automation.”

— Carel Bezuidenhout, School of Food and Advanced Technology, Massey University

"The forum was a well-rounded mix of everything from the statistics behind the research to people’s personal journeys in business and on-farm.”

— Philippa Wright, The National Council of New Zealand Wool Interests Inc.

Learn more

To find out more, check out the researcher’s presentations.