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Kiwis are now working longer

NEW Zealanders are working longer hours, and working couples have boosted their time at work by up to an extra day a week between them.

Research by economist Dr Paul Callister has found that, between 1986 and 2001, a greater number of NZers worked longer hours, and the number of paid hours worked per household increased significantly.

Mr Callister found that couples aged 25 to 59 with no dependent children had boosted their hours at work by close to an extra day a week. And those with dependent children weren't far behind - working five hours a week more.

On average, women still work shorter hours than men, but the increases in household working hours have been primarily due to the increased employment rates of women, particularly among mothers of young children.

The research also found that, when you average out the figures, hours of work have not changed much for individuals. But looking more closely at the figures, it is clear that there has been a polarisation or increase in both "work-rich" and "work-poor" households in New Zealand.

* In all age groups there were higher proportions of men working shorter hours - less that 20 hours a week. This has been a significant trend for young men aged 15 to 24.

* At the same time, there was an increase in the proportion of both men and women working more than 50 hours per week.

* The proportion of couples who worked 100 hours or more a week also increased over the 1986-2001 period.

Mr Callister has found that, in 1986, the people working the longest hours tended to be the least qualified... but, by 2001, those working the longest hours had shifted to the most highly qualified people.

He suggests that working longer hours is no longer done out of sheer economic necessity but may be driven by "expectations" of putting in the longer hours at the office.