Civil servants may watch games at work
Civil servants may watch games at work
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Soccer fanatics working for private companies in the city are
eagerly awaiting the upcoming 17th World Cup like everyone else,
but they face a major problem: Most of the matches are to be
aired in the afternoon while they are stuck behind a desk.
Among those afflicted with World Cup fever in the city, they
will be the least fortunate in catching the 64 soccer matches
played by 32 teams from around the world.
Private television station RCTI will broadcast the games live,
which will be played in Japan and South Korea. The matches will
air between 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Jakarta time.
Several personnel managers from private companies here told
The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that there would not be any chances
for employees to watch games that are scheduled for weekdays
during office hours.
"We don't have any televisions in our office. So our employees
do not watch TV programs during work time," said F. Siregar, a
personnel manager at an IT company on Jl. Jend. Sudirman in
Central Jakarta.
Siregar said the company expected its employees to do their
best as it is a profit-oriented one.
"I don't think watching soccer would improve their work
performance, and it would affect our company's productivity," he
said.
Mediana R., a personnel manager at a financial company in
Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, concurred with Siregar.
"Our employees are expected to give their best effort to the
company, that's why we hired them. Our relationship is a
professional one. We have committed ourselves, and in return, the
employees must commit themselves," she said.
But employees that are true soccer fanatics have anticipated
this situation and devised several ways to avoid missing the
matches.
"I have asked my maids at home to record the games so I can
watch them after work," said Yosi Adri, who works at a foreign-
owned bank on Jl. M.H. Thamrin.
Yosi, who claims he is a soccer fanatic, said that he watched
most of the games during the World Cup in France four years ago.
Rahmat, who works for a printing company, plans to only watch
the semifinals and finals. "I can skip several games, but not the
semis or the finals," he said.
In contrast, several employees of state-owned companies and
civil servants do not have to worry about skipping one World Cup
game.
"We can watch them here, our office has a television. It won't
disrupt our work as most of it is done by the afternoon," said
Ahmad, an office clerk in the Petamburan subdistrict office.
A personnel manager at a state-owned financial company on Jl.
Jend. Gatot Soebroto, South Jakarta, said that the company allows
employees to watch soccer matches in the office as long as it
does not disrupt their work.
"It's O.K. if they finish their work before they watch it,
otherwise, they can't," said Riris Suteja.
Riris said the company thought stopping employees from
watching the games would hamper their desire to work. "After all,
it's held only once every four years," she said.