Workplace experiences and inclusion

Access to employee-led-networks

72% have access to employee-led networks relevant to them

We know that employee-led networks (ELNs) help to make more people feel included and have a sense of belonging. Having a space and mandate to connect with others with shared lived experiences supports people to bring their whole selves to work. ELNs also contribute valuable subject matter expertise to their agencies.

Most people (72%) said they had access to ELNs that were relevant to them. Access was higher for some groups, including those of Pacific ethnicity (76%), and women (75%), while some smaller communities had higher results again, e.g., Asian and Rainbow (83%), Pacific people of another gender/ multiple genders (87%) and disabled people of another gender/ multiple genders (84%).

Collectively, Rainbow communities also felt they had higher access (77%) but this varied for different groups. For example, people with intersex variations or another gender/multiple genders felt their access was slightly below average (68% and 70% respectively), while people of gay, lesbian, bisexual and ‘other’ sexual identities felt they had above average access (81%, 81%, 75% and 75% respectively).

Other groups who were less likely to report having access to ELNs, included: those with a disability (66%); those in some regions (e.g., Southland 59%, Hawkes Bay 60%), those in smaller ethnic groupings (e.g., MELAA 66%), males (67%) and those whose religion was Judaism (63%). Those with a mental health condition were also marginally less likely to feel they had access to ELNs (70%), while age and migrant status had no discernible effect.

Considering work-related factors, those in higher management tiers or with higher salaries typically reported greater access to ELNs relevant to them. Those with public-facing roles reported slightly poorer access (68%). Tenure appears to have had a very slight effect, with those new to role, agency or Public Service and those with over 30 years’ experience both reporting slightly more access to ELNs.

“Really inclusive! Wonderful Rainbow Network… I feel comfortable being myself and being out at work. It's fantastic.”

Being valued for bringing cultural expertise to the job

59% of Māori staff feel valued for the range of cultural expertise they bring to their job

The extent to which people feel valued for the range of cultural expertise they bring to their job varies considerably across many demographic variables, often with minority groups feeling more valued.

This is clearly true for ethnicity, with the largest ethnicity – European – giving the lowest response, at 46%. Asian (64%) and Pacific (63%) ethnicities were the highest, followed by Māori (59%) and MELAA (55%), with further variation within these high-level groupings. For example, within Asian, 69% of South-East Asian people felt valued for their cultural expertise, while within MELAA, 61% of Middle Eastern and 58% of Latin American people also felt valued in this way.  

This was also true for some religious groups, with over 60% of those connected to Māori religions, beliefs and philosophies, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism (68%, 67%, 66% and 61% respectively) feeling valued for their cultural expertise.

However, some minority groups felt less valued for their cultural expertise compared to the average result across the Public Service (50%). This included disabled people or those with a mental health condition (45% and 43% respectively), and those with an intersex variation (45%), or who are transgender (46%).

How people felt valued for their cultural expertise was also influenced by the following factors:

• Time spent in New Zealand – feeling valued for cultural expertise was highest for recent migrants (those who had spent less than 5 years in New Zealand – 58%), slightly lower for longer-term migrants (with 5 years or more in New Zealand – 54%), and lowest for those born in New Zealand (49%).
• Tier – those in tiers 1 and 2 reported feeling the most valued for their cultural expertise (69% collectively). These results declined by tier.
• Public facing roles – those in a predominantly public facing role felt more valued for their cultural expertise (54% compared to 48% for those not in public facing roles).
• Age – under-25s were most likely to feel valued for their cultural expertise 55% compared with 50% overall.
• Tenure – those newest to the Public Service felt most positively (63% for those under 6 months) with responses then mostly declining over time. As noted previously, age and tenure are strongly related.

“As one of the leaders who is Māori, I am frequently overwhelmed by requests to direct, inform and advise on a wide range of kaupapa... This is a positive sign of willingness within the organisation but also illuminates some capacity shortfalls.”

Working with people from different backgrounds

Responses to the question ‘I feel comfortable working with people from backgrounds other than my own’ were consistently high across the Public Service, with nearly everyone (96%) reporting they felt comfortable working with people from diverse backgrounds. There is indication that this can vary very slightly for some groups.

The results from this question are so uniformly high we believe it is demonstrating a human tendency where we see others as having biases, but do not recognise that we also have them.[9]

Barriers to inclusiveness

For the Te Taunaki question, ‘What could [Agency] do to make you feel more comfortable about being yourself at work?’, there were a total of 12,710 people who responded to the question, 32% of those who participated in the survey. These comments were analysed by our research provider and below are the key findings on the barriers and challenges for an inclusive work environment.

There were numerous examples of the ways in which leaders create (or fail to create) inclusive cultures within their organisations. The role of a manager is critically important to creating a team where people can be themselves.

“Hire more people focused managers/leaders and create a culture change within the workplace where managers aren't risk averse and actually encourage creativity, give their people more autonomy and provide more transparency. Teach managers how to respectfully manage employees with hard things going on in their lives/health issues/family issues etc.”

Many people noted that there has been a shift toward making the Public Service more capable to engage with Māori. This change placed a burden on Māori public servants to increase the cultural capability of their colleagues and leaders. They did not always feel recognised or compensated for the extra work they took on to do this. Some people also raised issues of racism in the workplace, both toward Māori and other people of colour. This ranged from comments by colleagues through to larger structural issues with how institutions respond to the needs of Māori communities and develop Māori staff.

“Embrace te ao Māori, not in a tokenistic sense such as learning waiata or pictures on the wall but actually valuing Māori world views.”

People want to be acknowledged and feel safe to be themselves, without fear that their colleagues or leaders will disparage them for being who they are. For the majority of people, that is already happening, but some groups are less likely to feel comfortable, particularly disabled public servants, rainbow communitites, and members of smaller ethnic groups.

“I've had 'they/them' pronouns criticised and dismissed by workmates, which is not just linguistically incorrect but also an alienating and discriminatory experience.” 

Some people in these communities raised aspects of the physical work environment that were important to their ability to feel comfortable at work. For disabled public servants, accessiblity of the doors, lifts, and toilets were barriers. For rainbow communities, increasing the number of unisex toilets was a key change that was needed. For Muslim public servants, access to a space appropriate for prayers was an important aspect of their work environment.

“I appreciate the support that is extended to me to accept who I am… For example, allocating a space within the office environment for people to practice their faith (common prayer room). I feel I am supported too with my dress code (hijab) headcover.”

Members of many ethnic groups felt organisations could/do benefit from celebrating and recognising the value in all cultures, even Pākehā culture. Christians sometimes felt uncomfortable because of how their religion was viewed by colleagues. Use of karakia or prayers in the workplace did not fit with some people’s beliefs on the separation of church and state.

“I believe the [Agency] does an amazing job in building inclusiveness at my workplace. Considering how diverse our work environment is, every culture is celebrated. That is amazing. Well done.”

Employee-led networks were identified as being valuable to communities within the Public Service. Participants in the survey encouraged agencies to increase support for employee-led networks, expand to include networks for people in smaller ethnic groups, inter-faith groups, disabled public servants, and ensure access/visibility and time for participation in existing networks.

“Better visibility of networks, encouragement from the top to utilise networks and the service they can provide to the organisation. Promotion from leadership of networks.”

Opportunities for career development, as well as fairness in processes for internal recruitment were raised as ideas for improving inclusion. Lack of diversity in management and senior leadership was noted, and there was strong interest in moving into leadership roles, but the pathway to progression was not clear for many.  

“Be more fair and just in promoting people at work. I feel I have been pushed aside over the years and others have been promoted to leadership roles. This attributes to my ethnicity which is not fair on me.”

Training on specific topics was suggested, including diversity training on LGBT+ communities, gender, disabled people, Pacific cultures, unconcious bias, Māori capability, te reo Māori and the Treaty.

“Managers need to be trained well on racism especially if they are Pakeha and have never experienced racism themselves. Often Pakeha managers have no idea how 'covert' racism rears its ugly head and when raised with them, instead of calling it out and dealing with it.”

Bullying and discrimination are barriers to people feeling comfortable at work. There was a desire for improving systems to make it easier and private to report issues of bullying or discrimination, as some felt unsafe to speak up. Some felt unsupported through the current processes and others had not seen tangible action from their complaint. Negative behaviours were usually in the form of comments, jokes or other verbal interactions.

“…There should be more support (particularly from HR) for victims who report these incidents. A lot more transparency around the investigation process and a quicker process that is less traumatising for victims.”

Workload stress made people less able to feel included, partly because they didn’t have time to connect with colleagues. Mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression were also made worse by high work demands. Access to flexible working, particularly working from home, was highly valued for its impact on wellbeing and work/life balance.

“I am an introvert and have severe anxiety in large groups of people or challenging situations. Working from home alleviates some of this anxiety.”

Recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce was a priority. This was most often raised in relation to Māori and Pacific communities. Onboarding and induction were also areas that some people wanted to have improved.

“Change the recruitment practices to attract and be more inclusive of Māori.”

Though people raised many ideas for how their work environment and organisation could be improved, there was also acknowledgement that there have been substantial shifts toward increasing diversity and inclusion over many years.

“I am totally comfortable being myself in my workplace. In my almost 17 years in <the agency>, I have noticed big changes toward accepting diversity of ethnicity and sexual orientation.”

[9] The Bias Blind Spot: Perceptions of Bias in Self Versus Others - Emily Pronin, Daniel Y. Lin, Lee Ross, 2002 (sagepub.com)