A five-day office mandate would rule out 76% of NZ tech workers, a Potentia survey of 989 professionals finds. Key numbers on pay, commutes and job choices.
A five-day office mandate would rule out 76% of New Zealand tech workers from even considering a job, according to a new survey by recruitment firm Potentia. The survey of 989 technology professionals looked at how many office days people will accept, what pay they would want in return, how far they will commute, and whether attendance rules have already changed their job decisions.
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The results, reported by IT Brief New Zealand, suggest that employers who insist on full-time office work could lose most of their candidate pool. This matters for businesses that rely on scarce tech skills, and for anyone watching how the New Zealand job market is changing.
Office mandate survey: key findings at a glance
The Potentia survey gives a clear picture of where tech workers draw the line. The share of people who would rule out a role rises sharply as the number of required office days goes up.
| Finding | Result |
|---|---|
| People surveyed | 989 NZ technology professionals |
| Would rule out a role with three office days | 33% |
| Would rule out a role with five office days | 76% |
| Have already walked away from a role over attendance rules | 42% |
| Extra pay wanted to work in the office five days | About 20% |
| Software developers who would turn down a three-day role | 51% |
| Will not commute more than 40 minutes each way | Two in three |
Taken together, these numbers show that an office mandate is not a small detail in a job advert. For many tech professionals, it decides whether they apply at all.
Why a five-day office mandate is a cliff, not a slope
One of the most striking points in the survey is how quickly interest falls away. Moving from a three-day to a four-day office requirement halves the share of people willing to consider a role. By the time a role needs five days in the office, three in four respondents would not consider it.
Sam Nowell, a director at Potentia, described the pattern in simple terms: “It’s not a gradual slide, it’s a cliff.” In other words, each extra required day does not cost employers the same number of candidates. The jump from a hybrid model to a full-time office mandate costs far more.
For hiring managers, a small policy change, such as moving from three to four days, can shrink the applicant pool far more than expected.
Workers are already walking away
The survey also shows that office rules are already shaping real decisions. Some 42% of respondents said they had walked away from a role because of office attendance rules.
That figure stands out because the job market is not easy. Unemployment in New Zealand is at an 11-year high, according to the IT Brief report. Even so, many tech professionals are still willing to turn down work if the attendance rules do not suit them.
For employers, this means an office mandate can reduce the number of strong candidates even when many people are looking for work. For workers, it shows that flexibility remains a major factor in how they judge a job offer.
The pay question: what would it take?
Respondents said they would want about 20% more pay to work in the office five days a week. That is a significant premium, and it gives employers a rough way to think about the cost of a strict office mandate.
However, money does not solve the problem for everyone. About a third of respondents said no pay rise would persuade them to accept a five-day office role.
Senior staff and contractors hold firm
Resistance to a full-time office mandate is strongest among experienced people. Among those unwilling to take a five-day role, 58% of senior staff and 52% of contractors said no amount of extra pay would change their minds. These are often the people employers most want to hire for complex projects.
A cost example for employers
The report gives a simple example. For a team of 10 people each earning NZ$100,000, matching the share of candidates a three-day policy attracts would cost about NZ$200,000 a year. That is the extra pay needed to make a full-time office mandate as attractive as a hybrid one.
For a business, this turns a workplace policy into a clear budget decision. Leaders can weigh the benefits they expect from more office time against the extra salary cost, or the risk of hiring from a smaller pool.
Who is most likely to reject an office mandate?
The survey found differences by job type and by region. Software developers were the most resistant group mentioned in the report. Some 51% of software developers would turn down a role that required three office days, well above the overall figure of 33%.
Location also matters. The share of people who would reject a three-day office role was:
- Auckland: 39%
- Wellington: 28%
- Canterbury: 26%
Auckland’s higher figure suggests that local conditions, such as travel time and transport costs, may play a part in how people respond to an office mandate.
Commute limits shape job decisions
Travel time is a key part of the office mandate picture. Two in three respondents said they would not travel more than 40 minutes each way to an office. The report also notes that rising fuel and public transport costs are adding pressure on workers.
For many people, a long commute means less time for family, rest or exercise, plus daily costs for fuel, parking or fares. When an office mandate adds more of these trips each week, the total burden grows quickly. This helps explain why the gap between three and five days is so large.
What Potentia recommends for employers
The report does not simply tell employers to drop office days. Instead, it suggests making office time more useful and easier to reach. Its recommendations include:
- Define the purpose of office days. Use them for activities that benefit from being together, such as workshops or planning, rather than simply adding required days.
- Schedule office time to reduce peak-hour travel. Consider start times that avoid the worst traffic.
- Make public transport access easier for staff who need to come in.
Nowell also made a practical point: if a manager cannot explain why the team needs to be in on a given day, the team probably cannot either. A clear reason for office days may matter as much as the number of days.
What the office mandate debate means for NZ businesses and investors
Hybrid work became common in recent years. Since then, many employers have tried to bring staff back to the office more often. This survey suggests that, in the tech sector at least, a strict office mandate carries real trade-offs.
For businesses, the main risks are a smaller candidate pool, higher salary costs and the loss of experienced staff. Tech skills support many parts of the economy, from banking to retail to government services, so hiring problems in this area can slow digital projects.
For investors, workplace policy is one of many factors that can affect how well a company attracts and keeps talent. Firms that rely heavily on software and data teams may need to balance office goals against hiring costs. Workers who want to understand their rights around flexible work can find general guidance on the Employment New Zealand website.
In other New Zealand tech news today, read about the global Outlook outage that hit Kiwi users. You may also be interested in our report on a travel insurer found to have acted in bad faith, and how Alberta is using AI to speed up MRI scans.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many NZ tech workers would reject a five-day office mandate?
According to the Potentia survey of 989 technology professionals, 76% would rule out a role that requires five days a week in the office.
What about a three-day office requirement?
About 33% of respondents would rule out a role with three office days. Among software developers, that figure rises to 51%.
How much extra pay would tech workers want for full-time office work?
Respondents said they would want about 20% more pay to work in the office five days a week. However, about a third said no pay rise would persuade them.
What does Potentia suggest employers do instead?
It recommends giving office days a clear purpose, such as workshops or planning, scheduling time to avoid peak-hour travel, and making public transport access easier.
