Aspiration 3
All workplaces are worker-friendly, safe, and inclusive, and support both employees and employers to thrive.
On this page
Waitaha pākihi haumako
This aspiration is about creating better work environments and building Canterbury’s reputation as a region where people love to work. It seeks to create an environment where labour market challenges are reduced as the region attracts and retains a strong, engaged and diverse workforce.
Kāore he wāhi i tua atu i Waitaha
There is no place better than Canterbury
To have a successful labour market in the future, Canterbury needs to embrace initiatives and programmes that promote worker wellbeing and welfare. It needs to ensure that the significant and wide-ranging benefits of initiatives that promote physical, mental, emotional, cultural and identity wellbeing are easily available and accessible to everyone.
To attain this, Canterbury will need to stay focused on the positive outcomes of ensuring all workers are able to participate in decent work, with a fair and prosperous wage, in the right conditions for ongoing development. Success in this area will be when our workforce reflects the demographics of the region across all roles, in all workplaces.
Progress will need to be made to create an environment where workplaces are bullying and discrimination free and initiatives that enable better work/life balance (such as flexible working) are encouraged wherever possible. This is particularly true for those groups of workers who we already know are far more at risk of adverse labour market outcomes.
Achievement in this aspiration sees a future where workplaces thrive whilst also being safe and productive spaces for all employees, regardless of their individual differences.
No one action will get us there, but if we take incremental steps in the right direction, we can create positive labour market change where employees can reach their full potential. We will need to promote and support the different regional and national programmes that we know create better workplaces, and show employers real life practical examples of how these initiatives benefit all involved.
This first iteration of the Canterbury RWP will seek to understand the changes and actions required to create a region where people thrive at work across all industries and sectors, whilst employers also prosper. It will seek to understand the challenges workers face in feeling safe, supported and included at work, and give meaning to the changes required to unleash their full labour market potential for both themselves and their employers.