‘Atrocious Vibes’: What’s it Like When Everyone’s Been Made Redundant?

This year has been rough. It began with a bomb threat at The Waitangi Tiriti Grounds, then we officially entered a recession, then just about every bar or pub or festival worth going to gradually began to announce the lights were turning off. And amidst it all 2024 has seen a huge amount of job losses, especially across the media industry and public sector. 

While these industries might have seen the biggest cuts – with an estimated 6227 government jobs cut since National implemented its “Back Pocket Boost” tax plan to cut down on “back-office expenditure” – many industries across Aotearoa are feeling the pinch. A Business NZ report shows that the manufacturing sector continues to lay off staff across the country, NZ Post announced that they’ll be cutting hundreds of jobs and large universities are set to lay off staff as well.

The numbers are grim – so large that you might just disconnect from day-to-day implications – but what does it look like to be in the thick of it? 

Keiran*, who works in the public sector, has noticed several changes in the atmosphere at his workplace – in part due to waiting for the final word on whose desks need to be cleared. 

“It's usually like the lead up to the moment. People are very worried that, y’know, is it my job that's gonna go? And so people do tend to really just feel very on edge about everything and kind of second guess themselves a little bit. And the morale is very low and anxious and just a bit stressed.”

According to Ally* who also works in the public sector, the job losses have been “ruthless”

Her workplace saw a mixture of voluntary and proposed redundancies, followed by a period of submissions where people being made redundant argued their case for staying in the role. 

“The cuts definitely affected the morale of my workplace, especially when you've got senior leaders and managers who have been cut. And they're kind of possessing this attitude of – not that they don't care – but a bit of hopelessness. So when they possess these attitudes, it's so quick to trickle down,” she says.  

Unfortunately for anyone in Ally’s position, hopelessness and anxiety are the last things you need when arguing your worth in the workplace – and this need to prove to the gods above why you’re too important to cut inevitably causes conflict between colleagues. 

Verity*, who works for a government agency, told VICE that “before the cuts were announced, there was definitely a vibe of managers vying for work, to prove their team's capability and usefulness, so it became kind of a silly strategic competitive dance.”

At Ally’s workplace, it meant a lot of interpersonal awkwardness. 

“You're in a way pitted against your other team members… So you're competing with people that you love and that you really care about,” she says. 

On top of the emotional implications of attempting to beat out your favourite teammate for the same position, competing for fewer roles creates practical difficulties, too. Especially if you’re young.

“I’m 22,” says Ally. “I've just entered the public sector, this is my first big girl job, or whatever you want to call it, and the employees that I'm competing against have years of experience.”

For most of us, finishing university or high school and seeking employment can already make you feel like a mudfish in a massive pond, but now the pond has your own parents, bosses, teachers and mentors in it.  

And this can go two ways: Look around your average advertising office and it’s hard to spot anyone over 40. In many industries, it can feel like anyone in the latter half of their career is being pushed aside in favour of younger, fresher, online minds, particularly since social media has become a priority for many businesses. There’s no guarantee that older folk in the job market are going to be sweeping up the available roles. But it’s unlikely if you’re a young journalism student, for example, that you’re beating out Patrick Gower for a TV job. 

While Verity is confident that her transferable skills will guarantee her future work, she says she has noticed higher nerves among her coworkers. 

With hundreds of applicants for desirable roles, it’s no shock there’s a  huge amount of self-doubt and uncertainty.

Amidst all the anxiety over cuts, there’s still work to be done – and in many offices, the workload isn’t being reduced to fit new staff numbers. 

“It feels a bit like what's the point?” says Ally. 

Verity says that in her government job, teams are totally swamped and don’t have capacity to do all the work they’re asigned. 

While internal support structures aren’t meeting staff needs, financial support is also lacking. It’s not a new phenomena, but rounds of industry redundancies rarely arrive alongside pay rises for the survivors. 

Mikayla*, who works in a research facility,  says a strong union presence in her workplace, of which at least 80% of the staff were involved, was able to prevent a complete restructure. However, an imposed staff freeze, resulted in similar financial distress among her colleagues. 

“There was more work to be done across fewer people,  plus pay hadn't kept up with inflation for years meaning people were even more sour and stressed financially,” she says. 

So, with all the tension, stress and ugliness at play, why does anyone even bother to show up to the office? Well, some people have just stopped. 

Keiran explains that the new workload-to-staff ratio means people in his office “can't really take lunch breaks,” and this has encouraged more people to work from home and work flexi-hours to maximise their time as in the office. However, in Ally’s office, the bid to stay home is motivated by bad juju. 

“Most people are now working from home because the vibes are just atrocious,” she says. 

“Everyone's so emotionally exhausted, and spent, that it's not nice in the office.” 

*Names have been changed on request.

Rachel Barker is a writer / producer at VICE NZ in Aotearoa. You can find her @rachellydiab on IG and Letterboxd and see her film criticism on Youtube.