Opinion: Productivity and wellbeing, two sides of the same coin

By Pete Coldwell
Marlborough Chamber of Commerce

We hear the words productivity and wellbeing all the time and they generate different responses, not always positive ones.

But workers in Marlborough and across NZ are working harder and longer and not getting the rewards they might in other OECD countries, it’s something we have to improve, to make life better for everyone.

When we’re told that we have low productivity rates compared with other countries, it’s not a criticism, it’s just a fact. So at the Chamber we thought we’d try and understand the challenges and some of the things we could do as a region to improve the situation. We thought we’d bring in an expert to take us through it.

So last week we hosted Dr Ganesh Nana the Chair of the Productivity Commission and he had a really interesting take on productivity. In his view it’s crucial that we focus on productivity and wellbeing at the same time, that just focussing as we have tended to in NZ, on working more hours really isn’t the solution, in fact it’s part of the problem.

The macho view of working more and more hours, needs to be left in the past. Now we need to look at protecting our best assets our people. Working on their wellbeing helps to drive productivity, getting the team involved in your business is crucial and will help a business to be more productive over time as well as helping to retain your current staff and attract new employees.

He covered a number of ideas but one of the key messages was think about who’s not in the room when you make a decision, if someone else is going to be using what you’re designing, then make sure you talk to them. They will know the problems and possibly have the solutions. I know it sounds obvious but often we forget to do it.

Another area he covered was the importance of education and technology, that getting kids into technology careers provides them with a world of opportunities and will be part of the solution to increasing productivity in both the region and the county.

To that end the Chamber held the first Empower Te Rangapikikōtuku Coding and Esports festival two weeks ago, we took over the entire Marlborough Events Centre and the ASB Theatre with an inspiring collection of technology; building robots, drones, aquabots, virtual reality training, virtual dodge ball, gaming against JMK one of the top eBlack’s (fresh from competing in the Commonwealth Games) and some amazing speakers on technology.

After the torrential rain led to the closure of both State Highways to Nelson, a number of people rang us to say are you postponing or cancelling the event, but after all the hard work that had gone, in that never crossed our minds. After some frantic calls and the wonderful Sounds Air coming to our rescue and bringing key people for the event over from Nelson, we were on track.

There was something for everyone and we had over 600 students and teachers attend over the two days. It was brilliant to see so many kids interacting with technology, trying new things and asking so many insightful questions.

Next year the event will be over in Nelson and then come back to Marlborough in 2024. This is just the start, and our aim is for Empower to become one of the biggest student tech events in NZ over the coming years.

We’re trying to do our bit for wellbeing and productivity.