Reality TV has exploded in recent years, with viewer demand spawning an ever growing number of cooking competitions, renovation competitions, dancing competitions, dating shows and even shows where participants marry complete strangers.

Reality TV shows draw their viewership and notoriety from making everyday people interesting.

This often requires a combination of placing participants in difficult or high pressure situations, and then using producer influence and selective editing to portray an interesting or scandalous narrative that will attract viewers. More ...

People watched aghast as the new SkyCity Convention Centre burnt for days in Auckland.

It seems that the oversight on the part of a contractor leaving a heating fan going without supervision sparked the fire. No doubt a formal enquiry and possible litigation might determine things with more accuracy.

Former prime minister Sir John Key and the Auckland City Council will have watched a dream go up in smoke, or at least be delayed for several years. More ...

Accounting firm EY has given permission to the workers to swap their Labour Day public holiday for a different day off is significant, the Dominion Post reported.

It points to how much we are changing as a society.

They said they made the change to recognise that there were multiple holy days in different religions and workers should be able to celebrate the days that were most important to them. More ...

Older readers will have seen many established New Zealand businesses taken over by ambitious entrepreneurs shaking the old company to its foundations.

Credit Suisse has followed a similar pathway. It had a halo in Switzerland and was the bastion of the Zurich establishment. But in 2015, the board hired a chief executive to give the place a shake up, one Tidjane Thiam.

He certainly has made an impact. Much of what gave the bank its distinctive character has been dismantled. More ...

There has been a lot of media attention on the performance of referees in the Rugby World Cup.

In fact, after several contentious calls in early games of the tournament, World Rugby issued a statement acknowledging that the performances of the match officials "were not consistently of the standards set by World Rugby and themselves".

But at what point is the expected standard that of perfection?

Keen-eyed rugby watchers look out for referee blunders from a wide assortment of camera angles. Passionate supporters will be watching every move looking for anything that disadvantages their preferred team. More ...

A man recently hit global headlines for taking a clown to a redundancy meeting. Joshua Thompson, an Auckland advertising copywriter, brought Joe the Clown along to the meeting as a support person.

The clown made balloon animals for the meeting attendees and mimed crying as the employee was handed the redundancy paperwork.

Normally, employment meetings where an employee is likely to bring a support person are very serious and stressful times. Few employees would turn their mind to hiring a clown in those circumstances. However, Thompson's unusual choice to bring along a support clown sheds a light on whether there are limits to your support person choices. More ...

Employees at Auckland's SkyCity Casino feel that their weekends are not being valued enough.

About 100 SkyCity Casino workers went on strike last week calling for more compensation for the "unsociable hours" that they work in a campaign called "back to the weekend" organised by Unite Union.

Unite Union claims workers are "forced" to work nights and weekends irrespective of their personal situation and with no extra pay.

Striking employees want SkyCity to recognise that not all hours are equal and staff should receive better pay if they are willing and able to work these "difficult hours". More ...

The world is watching to see if China's army marches across the border into Hong Kong and imposes some form of martial law.

Hong Kong was a British Colony until 1997 when it was returned to China with the guarantee of certain freedoms not enjoyed in the rest of China by the mainland population.

Hong Kong has been a commercial hub for centuries with a key role of bridging the western world and China in terms of commerce and trade. More ...

Do you swear? Do you object to others swearing in your presence? What about in a work environment? What about where you get your coffee?

Barista, Rachel Ferrar was fired from her job at The Flying Bean Coffee Cart on The Esplanade in Petone for swearing in front of customers.

Ferrari worked for the business from February 2015 until her dismissal on 18 May 2018.

Her case was the subject of a recent Employment Relations Authority determination. More ...