Wellington Water Faces Criticism After Employee Shares Video of ‘Slacking Off’

Wellingtonians have been alerted that Level 2 restrictions will be implemented starting next Wednesday, which means no sprinklers or other unattended outdoor water devices will be allowed. Wellington Water has also faced embarrassment due to a video uploaded by a Chinese staffer, where she was seen “slacking off.”

The organization manages the water supply on behalf of local councils, which retain ownership of the assets.

The video, titled “Council Engineer—Challenge one day slacking off and do no work. Making money while I play.” was uploaded to the Chinese social media site Xiaohongshu but has since been deleted.

The female employee, believed to be a graduate engineer, confessed to leaving work at 11:40 a.m., just two hours after arriving, and spent her time meeting a friend for coffee and enjoying the good weather outside. She then engaged in leisure activities such as going to the gym, car wash, and even the movies for the rest of the day.

She also admitted to not attending the office for several days before creating the video, stating, “I wanted to continue slacking off at home, but my partner is worried my company might fire me so he took me to work.”

“Actually, today is the third working day but having just returned from South Island, I’ve been tired so [I] worked from home ‘half lying down,’ which actually is doing nothing,” she said, adding “Usually the best way to slack off at work is to stare at the screen and sigh.”