Lockdown 2.0 in New Zealand - baking, WFH & pretty much BAU

So as I wake up it is day 8 of lockdown which started 11.59pm Tuesday 17th August.

We had only just been talking about the increasing risk of Covid that morning and BOOM here was a Delta variant outbreak in Auckland from a traveller from Sydney on 7th August.

Delta is very different to the old beast which was spread by droplets on surfaces, where you could ‘socially distance’ and be 2 meters away….NOW NONE OF THIS APPLIES…It’s a very aggressive airborne virus which can spread infinitely easier.

Previous outbreak in 2020 it took 1 month to have 100 cases 

Current Delta outbreak 6 days to get to 100 cases 

So again the NZ government was on the ball and going hard and early to get on top of what has already escaped exponentially. Cases have gone up but the team of 5 million have come together and as we know the huge benefits of safety and advantages for the economy we saw last year everyone is embracing it as the right & necessary thing to do. It will be a few more weeks for Auckland and now we await to see if has reached the south island and other areas of Aotearoa.

Scary stuff and those anxious feeling rising up again (natural to feel like this as there’s a real threat to you & your family) hope everyone is doing ok & adjusting to WFH. We have the kids running around with the puppy, we’re making the most of it with its ups & downs baking, meetings, homeschooling, a bit of chess with the 7 year old, guitar and super lucky (again) with the amazing sunny weather in Christchurch spending time out in the garden. Is this our biggest challenge of our generation? I hope so….Surviving? Just getting by? That’s ok…https://mentalhealth.org.nz/programmes-projects/all-right Or a few lockdown projects planned? We wish you all the very best.

The technology industry has been super hot the past few months with us getting new opportunities on everyday and we’re currently recruiting about 50 software development & IT jobs (check out https://sunstonetalent.com/it-jobs-christchurch-nz) based in Christchurch & WFH a record since we started nearly 8 years ago. Of course the skill shortage has been exacerbated by the borders being closed but Christchurch still has the nice advantage of a new exciting, developing city with some of the best value house prices in the country compared to crazy prices in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin.

I’m very grateful for being in New Zealand and in technology and working with some modern companies in which everyone switched to WFH seamlessly, many of our contractors are full-time WFH anyways and I can only see this trend continue as a win-win for contract candidates and companies widening their talent pools geographically to meet their product software development goals.

So Kia Kaha everyone, be kind and understand that everyones situation is a little bit different but the band is definitely back together again, the team of 5 million and we can do this…again :-)

I'm Paul, I love coffee, dogs (and cats) & biking. Founder & Principal Consultant of Sunstone, an IT Recruitment & HR company specialising in recruiting software development & IT roles including, web, digital, mobile, data, cloud, hardware, security & networks in Christchurch & South Island of New Zealand