Longer weekends?<\/p>\n
It seems that President Soeharto's statement on Wednesday has
\nput to rest the old controversy over the benefits and
\ndisadvantages of a long weekend for civil servants. His statement
\ncalled on businessmen, workers and civil servants to help the
\nnation build prosperous families. To help the process along,
\nSoeharto said plans were in the works to allow civil servants to
\ntake Saturdays and Sundays off so parents could spend more time
\nwith their families.<\/p>\n
The present trend towards having small families has its down
\nside in the form of weakened family bonds, Soeharto said. But
\nwhile this tendency is a welcome development because it makes
\nfamilies more mobile -- which is vital in a country which is
\nchanging from an agricultural society to an industrial one -- it
\ncan also weaken family ties. This can mean a declining
\nappreciation for traditional family values. "Bear in mind that
\nthe family spirit is one of the main characteristics of our
\nsociety," he said.<\/p>\n
It was in this context of improving the welfare of families
\nand raising the living standards of rural communities that
\nSoeharto mentioned the existence of a government plan to make
\nSaturdays an official weekly holiday in addition to Sundays.
\nBesides, Soeharto said, by allowing employees to take two days-a-
\nweek off, substantial savings could be gleaned in various
\noverhead and operating costs, such as those for electricity and
\ntelephone communications.<\/p>\n
Some of us may recall the controversy that arose some time ago
\nover similar plans made by the Jakarta city administration, who
\nwanted to institutionalize the long weekend for municipal
\nemployees. According to the plans proposed by Jakarta's then-
\nGovernor Wiyogo Atmodarminto, the scheme would be introduced in
\nstages. At the same time the public would be assured that
\nJakarta's civil servants would still be working not less than the
\n37.5 hours a week as required by law.<\/p>\n
A number of leading figures, including the then State Minister
\nfor Administrative Reform, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, spoke out
\nagainst the plan.<\/p>\n
As far as the public was concerned, they should not be made to
\npay for a decline in services. This is probably something the
\nplanners could work out. Nevertheless, it is advisable that we
\nmind the findings of a study quoted by a demographer of the
\nIndonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Dr. Suharso, in 1991.<\/p>\n
According to the findings, only 22 percent of Indonesia's 1.6
\nmillion civil servants in public service offices work as long as
\nofficial regulations require. In Jakarta, only 20 percent of this
\n22 percent actually do work. The remaining two percent spend
\ntheir working hours in the office reading newspapers, playing
\ncards or doing other activities unrelated to their jobs. In
\naddition, many civil servants interpret the official working
\nhours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. as leaving home at eight o'clock in the
\nmorning and getting home at three in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
To be honest, we do not know whether such working habits still
\nprevail at present.<\/p>\n
Certainly, not all civil servants take their responsibilities
\nso lightly. In fact, there are many who have, throughout their
\ncareers, shown a dedication to their jobs that can only be called
\nexemplary.<\/p>\n
While we do recognize the merits of a long weekend, we believe
\nthat improved efficiency should still be the major concern of
\nthose in government who are charged with elevating the
\nperformance of our civil servants in general.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/longer-weekends-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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