‘It’s not necessarily about the pay’: When money is not the driving force

WELLINGTON account executive Jewelia Finnigan took a pay cut to change into her new job, at a company which shares her values, has flexible working hours, and a nine-day fortnight.

Since leaving university with two degrees, Finnigan had worked in the public sector, then an NGO. This week she started in the private sector, with Wellington public relations firm Mana Communications.

‘‘I’ve always been motivated to work for values-driven organisations, which became particularly important to me when deciding to move into the private sector,’’ she says.

Finnigan was looking to work for a business that values employees, and shows it.

‘‘It’s definitely not all about the pay, I took a bit of a pay cut going into this role. We work with some great organisations, in industries across New Zealand, but mostly our clients are in the science, innovation and research fields.’’

The nine-day fortnight was ‘‘really awesome’’.

Finnigan says it was not a decision all her friends would have made as some were still intent on chasing money and climbing the ladder.

For all that, she agreed there had been a change in the way companies presented themselves to prospective employees since Covid arrived and forced a change in working conditions.

‘‘There are definitely a lot more companies exploring flexible working, which is great ... there’s a lot of discussion around shorter working weeks, but not a lot of action on it yet. It was pretty cool to see a company that has actually come out and said we support it and then put it in place.’’

Finnigan and others at Mana work from home one day a week, and 8am to 5pm are their standard work hours. The nine-day fortnight is paid as if it was 10 days.

‘‘Some of my friends are definitely far more interested in climbing the ladder and making as much money as they possibly can, and with the cost of living at the moment I don’t blame them’’ she says.

But there are also others like her who are looking for a workplace aligned with their values, and a lot more of her friends are discussing that as an option.

‘‘People aren’t willing to sacrifice as much, because it’s kind of a young people’s market. We get to make that decision, it’s becoming more evident now.’’

When Finnigan worked part-time at university, she often found it a struggle balancing the demands of attending lectures and the needs of her employers.

‘‘A lot of them had unreasonable expectations around work-life balance, wanting you to be on the ball and behind the company at all times.

‘‘I always gave 100% when I was working, but when you are asked to pick up shifts, when they know you’ve got lectures ... it created tension.’’

‘‘There are definitely a lot more companies exploring flexible working...’’ Jewelia Finnigan, left