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.