Helping Kiwis protect and respect our workers.
Across New Zealand, our kaimahi/workers are experiencing increasing levels of rudeness, aggression, and violence from customers. While this behaviour shows up in different ways depending on the industry, the impact is the same: stress, burn out, mental health harm, and an overall decline in the wellbeing of the people who keep our country running.
It’s time for change.
As part of our harm reduction strategy, ShopCare is working on a national campaign, in partnership with Respect NZ. The campaign will unite organisations from the private sector, unions, and local and central Government to effect the positive change Aotearoa New Zealand needs.
Our goal: reduce VAB for all workers and promote respect in customer interactions.
We’re going to move the needle on respect. Here’s how.
With the support of partner organisations, we are launching a focused nationwide project with two key components.
Phase 1: Find out the reality of VAB on our workers (early 2026)
National survey
To create meaningful change, we first need to hear directly from New Zealand’s customer-facing staff across ALL sectors – what are their experiences of violent and aggressive behaviour (VAB) in their workplace?
An independent research company will run a national survey that will be sent to workers across New Zealand, via participating organisations.
The survey will:
- Create a baseline measurement of VAB exposure, which currently does not exist
- Capture how often VAB occurs including the types of harm
- Provide a voice for workers to share solutions and suggestions to create positive change
Phase 2: Educate Kiwis to treat our workers with respect (late 2026)
Respect NZ customer education campaign
We’re partnering with Respect NZ to deliver a broad reach nationwide customer education campaign to encourage Kiwis to treat our public-facing workers respectfully.
The survey findings will inform the messaging of the customer education campaign. With the support of a number of organisations across Aotearoa, we plan to raise public awareness of the harm and shift behaviours to effect positive change.
The customer campaign will:
- Clearly articulate the harm that violent and aggressive behaviour is causing to workers, backed by credible research (the survey data findings)
- Launch a universal campaign tagline and toolkit that any organisation can adopt in their internal or customer-facing campaigns
- Amplify the education message via broad-reach media to raise awareness – TV, radio, PR
- Support organisations with collateral and online information that they can share with their customers and internally
- Encourage customers to change how they interact with staff
How you can show your support for the campaign.
1. Join us as a Founding Partner today
We’re inviting your organisation to become a Founding Partner in this campaign by donating $5,000 in seed funding for the first year to help:
- Roll out the survey and gather insights from customer-facing workers across industries
- Develop and test campaign messages and creative concepts
- Coordinate outreach and engagement with other sectors
Your company logo will be published as a supporter across the campaign collateral. Early supporters will have prominence on our marketing materials to encourage quick commitment.
As ShopCare is a registered charity, your investment in a better New Zealand is tax-deductible.
Find out more about becoming a founding partner here.
2. Share the national survey (early 2026)
When the survey launches, your organisation can share the survey link with your customer-facing staff and encourage them to share their experience. The survey will be anonymous – the supporting collateral will reassure them of confidentiality, to encourage genuine feedback.
3. Help educate customers with the campaign (end 2026)
Support the customer campaign by using the toolkit and campaign messages to educate your customers and reinforce respectful behaviours in your own organisation.
Together, we can encourage respect for every worker, every day.
Every customer-facing worker deserves to feel safe and respected at work. By standing together, we can help set a new standard of behaviour across Aotearoa.
Interested?
We’d love to have your support.
If you’re interested in joining us on this journey as a Founding Partner, or you’d like to talk it through, please click below.
If you would like to share this info with others in your organisation – click below to view a PDF to download.
Join our community so you get updates once we launch the survey and national campaign. It’s free.
FAQs
Why do we need a VAB awareness campaign?
Kaimahi/workers across New Zealand are seeing rising levels of rudeness, aggression, and violence from customers. This campaign aims to address the issue at its roots by raising awareness, shifting customer behaviour, and giving workers a stronger voice.
What is the national VAB worker survey?
The national VAB worker survey is independent research that will gather real-life experiences from workers across all sectors. The survey will help us understand how often VAB occurs, how it impacts workers, and what drives this behaviour.
Who can take part in the survey?
Any organisation with public or customer-facing workers can participate by sharing the survey with their teams once it launches in early 2026. We encourage organisations from all industries to get involved so the findings represent the full picture across Aotearoa.
How will the survey results be used?
The findings will guide the messaging for the nationwide customer education campaign in late 2026. They’ll also establish a baseline measurement of VAB exposure in New Zealand, which is currently unavailable. We will also share the findings in a report which will be publicly available. There will be no ability to identify organisations or individual responses.