The New Zealand office landscape has changed a lot since the pandemic. According to research published in the New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations post-pandemic, around 29% of workers moved from working in an office to working from home at least some of the time.
While working from home has obvious advantages (like choosing your own music and snacks), there are some disadvantages. It can be hard to get going in the morning with no bus to run for, and working in your pyjamas might be comfortable, but it’s not glamorous.
Shifting your workplace to your local coffee shop can help you feel more energised, and boost your mental health and productivity.
While most places are happy to have your business, there are a few things you should consider when it comes to working from a coffee shop in New Zealand.
There are lots of reasons to try working from a coffee shop from the smell of freshly roasted beans to the free wifi and snacks on hand. But before you settle in, keep these etiquette tips in mind:
While working from a coffee shop may mean you have more equipment than a regular coffee-goer, it’s important to not take up too much space. At the end of the day, most coffee shops in New Zealand are small businesses and taking a table big enough for six or even four people can be seen as a bit rude — especially if you’ve spread your work out.
If you can choose a small table or keep your laptop and any notes tidy if you’re sitting at a large table designed for multiple parties to sit at.
Coffee shops can be noisy with all the conversations going on around you. Even so, it’s important that you are mindful of making too much noise while you work. Zoom meetings or holding a conversation on a speaker can be intrusive to other customers - sometimes even more so than a regular conversation between two people.
Research actually shows that it’s harder for our brains to drown out a one-sided conversation. Our brains find it easier to drown out two people talking at once because we’re able to predict the flow of conversation. One-sided calls are more surprising to our brains and, therefore, more intrusive.
Fortunately, it's an easy fix. Pop your headphones in before talking to people on Zoom or on your phone. Oh, and don’t play Tik Tok or music out loud as this can also be really distracting.
A coffee shop is first and foremost a place to eat or drink while socialising with others. If you’re finding it hard to concentrate amongst all the noise or find the table next to you too distracting — don’t ask them to be quiet.
Loud voices, group conversations and noisy kids can intrude on your ability to focus, but that’s also part of the payoff of working from a coffee shop. If you’re looking for a quieter place to work from, try a library. It’ll allow you to get more done without any distractions.
In other countries, it might be okay to sit down and power up your laptop while sipping on the free water, New Zealand doesn’t work that way. There are over 9,000 coffee shops in Aotearoa, most of which are independently owned and operated. In fact, there are only 37 Starbucks in the whole country!
It’s really important that you support your local coffee shop by buying coffee or other drinks and snacks while you are there. A good rule to work by is to order a coffee or something to eat every 1.5 to 2 hours.
While most coffee shops allow patrons to plug into their charging points, you may find that in New Zealand some places just don’t have a lot of plugs to go around. This is because these shops are predominantly set up for socialising, reading or doing some light work on your laptop rather than working or studying.
While it’s fine to plug into a nearby charging point, don’t remove plugs to free up space for your charger and keep your cables out of other people’s way. You can always ask other patrons if you can swap seats to be nearer a plug - when asked politely, many people don’t mind.
Many cafes make most of their money over the lunch time rush. While it’s generally fine to work in a coffee shop over lunch, just be mindful of whether other people are looking for a table - especially if you’re not actually going to be ordering food. If you’ve been there for a while and aren’t ordering either order lunch or free the table up for other patrons.
New Zealand is a pretty safe place and so too are our coffee shops. However, it’s not the cafes responsibility if something happens to your bags or laptop when you’re not there. Don’t leave your stuff unattended to take a phone call outside or go to the toilet. The polite thing to do is to ask the person next to you to keep an eye on your stuff.
Over the past few years, there seems to be more of a focus on coffee shops offering a place to relax and unwind than being places to get productive. Even so, most Kiwi coffee shops offer free wifi to patrons. If there’s no wifi code on the wall or the table, usually all you have to do is ask.
Just make sure that you’re not hogging the wifi from other patrons. Gaming or streaming can slow the connection down for other users.
If you’re planning on being at a coffee shop for a while it may be tempting to bring some snacks to keep you sustained during that time. However, bringing your own food is a big no-no. If you’re hungry, order from the menu or go home to eat.
Cafe culture is strong in New Zealand which is probably why many cafes are better set up for socialising than working. Even so, it’s still acceptable to work from a coffee shop as long as you follow the above rules. If you want to learn more about New Zealand’s coffee culture, check out our guide here.
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