Managing leisure

Managing leisure

How long does it take to cover a distance of 100 feet? A study
revealed that for the average Indonesian it takes 27.2 seconds.
The Japanese take first place by clocking in at 20.7 seconds.
They are followed by the British with 21.6 seconds and the
Americans with 22.5.

We cannot help but be reminded of that survey because of the
present debate over the government's decision to introduce a
five-day-work week, which is planned to start in August of next
year.

Surprisingly, while most people talk about the pro's and con's
of the proposed scheme, very few have raised concerns over how
the long week-end system will impact our productivity levels. As
the survey cited above has shown, the productivity levels of the
average Indonesian are not particularly high. In fact, they are
some of the lowest in the world. There is no guarantee that
giving an additional day off per week is going to ensure that our
civil servants and workers will return to work with recharged
batteries on Monday and work harder.

What is also surprising is the fact that -- except for some
vague expressions of hope that the plan will strengthen family
bonds and enable city dwellers to visit villages in the provinces
and thus help develop their economies -- even less attention has
been given to the question of how people should go about
reorganizing their lives in step with the long-weekend plan.

Since it is almost certain that the five-day-week scheme will
be implemented next year, given that President Soeharto has given
it his stamp of approval, we are of the opinion that we should
pay more attention to the problem of the management of leisure.

For one thing, in our present society with its increasing
degree of consumerism, spending time on leisure costs money. For
a middle class people, the management of leisure is relatively
easy since they can afford to bear the costs.

But what about the lower-paid government employees? One of
them, in a letter published in this newspaper the other day,
voiced his displeasure over the plan because staying home for an
additional day would not only cut down his income, it subject him
to a "seven-round bout of headaches".

Of course, one could argue that there are many leisure
activities which cost almost nothing. But, how many of these
little or no-cost activities are really out there? We have too
few public parks to offer the public as play grounds. Squares and
sport fields where our children could play football are rapidly
disappearing. Window-shopping will surely ignite more economic
jealousy among people. Parents won't be able to find any relief
in letting their children watch television during those extra
holidays, because programming contains so much violence and cheap
soap operas.

Even reading material is becoming more costly and the recent
government clamp down on the freedom of the press has caused the
local papers to become more cautious. Their reports are now even
more dull and surely now worth spending a holiday with.

We suggest therefore that a concerted and realistic plan be
drawn up to see how people, particularly those who would be most
affected by the five-day-work-week, should manage their leisure
time.

Only by doing this can we reap any real benefits from the
five-day-work scheme, including relaxation, intellectual
enrichment, getting closer to nature, increased productivity and
efficiency, strengthened family bonds and, perhaps, even a boost
in the rural economies.