Small business owners will typically have their work cut out in establishing a work-life balance. Personal affairs can often take a back seat as the enterprise becomes the sole focus in every aspect of life. However, is this the case in New Zealand?
Work-life balance and productivity
Well, according to the assessment of the Productivity Commission's Director of Economics and Research Paul Conway, the country isn't in the best shape quite yet. While more business owners are indeed set to strike a balance between their professional and personal endeavours going forward, the country's over-arching productivity still needs to be boosted accordingly.
"To grow a sustainable economy that will give us the lifestyle we want, not just today but in the future, New Zealand still needs to lift its productivity," Mr Conway explained in a May 14 Productivity Commission news post.
More from Mr Conway, including facts and figures from Westpac's Grow NZ 2015 survey, can be found in this tweet:
New blog: @WestpacNZ Grow NZ survey finds SMEs are happier but not necessarily more productive http://t.co/zwKzfKyuaY pic.twitter.com/zlmTYU9V8i
— NZ Productivity Comm (@NZprocom) May 14, 2015
Too easy to do well?
So, what are the reasons behind a lack of business productivity in New Zealand? Well, believe it or not, part of the problem may be that the country is simply too easy to succeed in.
"You hear about the boat, the bach, the BMW, you have a large number of those owners ... who are getting older, have done well financially, are comfortable, and the imperative to really drive ... investment of extra money and time into growth ... is just not there," explained William Durning of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce, as quoted by stuff.co.nz.
Ninety-seven per cent of all of New Zealand's companies are small to medium enterprises.
Innovate with technology
Despite the apparent exterior factors, how can New Zealand's small businesses unlock more productivity going forward? The simple answer lies in innovating through technology.
Mr Conway surmised that organisational innovation is key in extracting more productivity via technology. To use a specific example, any company that leverages CashManager from Accomplish in efforts to better streamline accounting practices will likely be more productive as a result.
Ninety-seven per cent of all of New Zealand's companies are small to medium enterprises according to figures collated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Consequently, keeping them productive is not only beneficial to the organisations themselves, but also the wider economy of the country, too.