5 to 9 is the new 9 to 5 for Kiwi women

New research shows that modern women in New Zealand have flipped traditional working hours on their head

Gone are the days of working ‘9 to 5’; according to new research revealed today by NESCAFÉ.  Instead, a new trend discovered among Kiwi women shows that nearly two thirds of those aged 25-44 are working outside of the traditional ‘9 to 5’ (62 per cent) and nearly a third (28 per cent) work from 5am to 9pm.

As part of a Trans-Tasman research study, the NESCAFÉ Café Menu® team carried out research  to uncover the truth about women’s working hours and also found that after combining day jobs, household chores and (for many) being a mum, the majority of Kiwi women (52 per cent) only find time to fit in two to three 15 minute breaks per week day.

When they do finally manage to fit in a break, the top pursuit for NZ women was to check up on social media (73 per cent), take a coffee break (72 per cent) and catch-up on favourite TV shows (54 per cent).  53 per cent like to pick up a favourite magazine or book and a further 44 per cent used their rare free time to catch up with friends on email and text.

In a bid to find a moment for themselves, over half (56 per cent) of modern Kiwi women have turned to the trusty white lie for help – with ‘meetings’, ‘errands’, ‘appointments’ and ‘illness’ on hand to give them a much needed break.

Kiwi mums in particular admit going to great lengths to take a break, with over two thirds (67 per cent) bribing their child to behave on a daily or weekly basis and over a third (36 per cent) using smartphones or tablets to keep them quiet.  A further 14 per cent of mums even owned up to having skipped pages at bedtime to make a story shorter and find time to relax.

In light of the research findings and in acknowledgment that the modern Kiwi woman is busier than ever, the NESCAFÉ Café Menu® team have re-recorded the iconic classic song ‘9 to 5’.  For the first time ever, ‘9 to 5’ has been re-recorded with a lyric change of ‘5 to 9’ to reflect the cultural shift among women today, complete with an accompanying three minute music video.

NESCAFÉ Head of Marketing Rebecca Dobbins adds, “Our research amongst women across New Zealand and Australia highlights what we have always suspected – that modern women today are working harder and longer than ever before.  Women are taking a minimal amount of breaks and whether it’s hiding in their work bathroom, bribing their child with treats, or skipping pages in their kid’s bedtime storybooks, it’s fun to see the creative lengths that women are going to in order to get some time back for themselves.

“We are delighted to celebrate the real working day of a woman and we hope, whether they're at home or in the office, women everywhere will watch the music video and feel inspired to relax and recharge over a cup of NESCAFÉ Café Menu®.”

The NESCAFÉ Café Menu® team encourages women to sit back and take a well-deserved moment in their day and take a break for themselves and watch the full music video:

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or search #working5to9


About the study

Highlights of the Australian poll of 1,000 females aged 25-44 also found that:

• Half of Australian women (47%) say they work 5am-9pm
• More than 1 in 2 women (61%) work between 9 and 20 hours per day
• On average, women are only taking as little as three breaks per weekday with the majority (44%) who take either 2 or 3 breaks per weekday
• More than 1 in 2 women (56%) say that they deserve more breaks
• 1 in 4 women (24%) say three relax and recharge breaks are needed per day
• 3 in 4 women (75%) agree that having a 10 min coffee break is a good way to relax and recharge during the day
• 80% of mothers said they have bribed their child to get him or her to behave
• A further 1 in 5 mothers said they often resort to using bribes to get them to behave
• 3 in 4 mums with children aged under 18 (75%) have used the TV as a babysitter in order to get a break for themselves
• 1 in 3 mums with children aged under 18 (39 per cent) have skipped the pages of a book when reading their child a bedtime story in order to get a break for themselves
• 67% of mums admitted to using a smartphone or tablet to keep their child entertained
• 2 in 5 (41%) women have told a white lie in order to take a break
• 2 in 5 (40%) have pretended to go to the toilet to get a break at work
• 1 in 5 women (20%) have admitted to hiding from their boss in order to take a break, with the bathroom as the most popular hiding place
• Among those who admitted to hiding from their boss, the following places were identified as the most popular places to seek respite:
1.     Loo (50%)
2.     Kitchen/breakroom (42%)
3.     Outside office (41%)
4.     Car (27%)
5.     Colleague’s desk (26%)