New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations

Contents Page: NZJER, 2024, 48(2) General Issue

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Multi-employer bargaining in New Zealand within the rise and fall of labour market neoliberalism

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New Zealand was once at the vanguard of international adoption of neoliberalism in labour market policy. However, international institutions have weakened or even reversed their commitment to these ideals over time. In addition, economic theory has moved towards a model that takes account of monopsony and power. Fair pay agreements, briefly introduced and the abolished in 2023, were considered a crucial legislative change, but they cannot be the full solution to the problem of low worker power in New Zealand. Instead, consideration needs to be given to broader factors behind the continuing loss of employee influence. Finally, the concrete effects of neoliberalism are likely much more persistent than the ideas themselves.

Brown glass ceiling career inequalities? Empirical evidence from Samoans in New Zealand

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This study draws on qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted with a cohort comprising 31 Samoan CEOs and senior managers across various New Zealand industries to explore the phenomenon of a ‘brown glass ceiling’. The results reveal that Samoans encounter barriers in their career trajectories, hindering or stalling their progression into senior management roles. Our study indicates that cross-cultural differences in communication led to missed opportunities in addition to issues, such as racism, occupational segregation, and tokenism. Notably, some Samoan women experienced interracial and gender discrimination, particularly as afa-kasi (half-caste). Samoan career facilitators included mentorship from ‘white’ New Zealand Europeans, establishing future legacies, and a commitment to embracing their Samoan cultural identity. Our results have significant implications regarding how barriers to the glass ceiling shape and impact the careers of Samoans within New Zealand organisations. Consequently, our study contributes to the existing glass ceiling literature by incorporating insights from indigenous Samoans, who have received limited attention in glass ceiling and management research.

Future Labour Market Prospects of Youth Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET)

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The 2016 Australian census data showed that one in 10 Australians aged 15-24 years was not in education, employment or training (NEET). The assumption that NEET harms wellbeing underpins theoretical and policy discourses on youth disengagement from work and study. However, despite the extensive literature on the profiles of Australian NEET youth, the evidence on the consequences of NEET for future labour force participation and career progression is limited. Using data from the Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset, this study shows that a spell of NEET at ages 15-24 years is significantly associated with reduced full-time employment prospects and increased risks of being out of the labour force at ages 25-34 years. Even if NEETs find a job later in life, they are more likely to end up in low-skilled occupations. Our findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between full-time and part-time employment while measuring long-term impacts of NEET status. We also showed that some NEETs face higher future labour market risks than others.

Utilising vignettes as prompts in semi-structured interviewing for employment relations research

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This article illustrates how vignettes were utilised as prompts in a semi-structured interview study of multiple job holders during the Covid-19 pandemic, to overcome challenges created by the latent nature of the topic under investigation and the atypical situation created by the pandemic. Our illustrative qualitative study sought to understand how multiple job holders identify their ‘main job’. Three key benefits of using vignettes are outlined. The first of these was the ability for vignettes to encourage participant reflexivity (introspection) in a way that was conducive to ‘unpacking’ a tacit research problem to produce rich data. The vignettes also enabled efficient use of participants’ scarce time, helped significantly by providing an interesting experience rather than a laborious one. Lastly, focusing participants’ attention on the hypothetical vignette situations helped to enable some sense of normality in an atypical context which could have otherwise considerably skewed the data. On this basis, we present vignettes as a useful research tool that other employment relations researchers may wish to employ.

Research note: The strategic use of digital learning solutions for employee development: implications for employee relations

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The move towards digital technologies for employee training and development is increasingly imperative for organisations in a globalised and digitally connected society. This trend has been accelerated by a Covid-19 work environment where employers grapple with training and development through remote technologies. Consequently, employees are increasingly expected to make multifaceted decisions about their personal development in an uncertain technological environment. Within this environment, organisations are also under pressure to leverage their digital offerings to be more innovative and strategic. The adoption of digital learning solutions (DLS) for employee learning and development strategy has profound implications for their development and relationship with the organisation. This research note explores the implications of moving towards DLS through strategic reflections from human resources managers in New Zealand. Our findings suggest three critical strategic tensions that dominate HR managers’ thinking on adopting DLS: strategic rationales, organisational imperatives, and cognitive barriers. Finally, we discuss the implications of these critical tensions in technology adoption for employee development and employee relations.