'I am fully recharged by the long holidays'

Work has started again, but many are still in holiday mode, especially because more holidays are looming over Christmas and the New Year. To top it all off, private companies have reduced activities nearing year's end for the annual balancing of the books. The Jakarta Post talked to several workers about how the condition had affected their productivity.

Toha, 57, an officer with the Central Jakarta District Court. He lives with his wife and four children in Tangerang:

Civil servants and workers should be grateful for the extended holiday policy as, in fact, it aims to boost productivity. It is only the lazy and corrupt ones who skip weekdays after such a long holiday.

I, myself, feel highly spirited just like a fully recharged battery.

The policy of extended holidays is much more convenient than having one holiday mid-week, as it would disrupt my mood for working.

Mira Desliana, 23, is a media planner with an advertising agency in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta. She lives in South Jakarta with her family:

I prefer a week-long holiday of course, let alone that there's another long holiday coming at the end of this month.

Actually I'm a little bit lazy now since during the year's end, my division doesn't have much to do. We basically await the clients for them to give us their advertising plan but many companies connected to us have postponed their plans until next year.

Titis, 23, works as an account executive with a public relations firm in Jakarta. She lives in Bogor with her family:

I wish everyday was on holiday but I would still get paid. Brief holiday periods are okay, but more frequent.

The thing after a long holiday is that everybody becomes lazy and kinds of forgets that they have work to do. It applies to me to. There are many offices that are still difficult to contact because their employees are still taking days off, so it affects my mood.

--The Jakarta Post