'There's no work to do the week after Idul Fitri'

The only reason many people dragged themselves back into the office this Monday after the long Idul Fitri holiday was because their bosses threatened to demote or fire them if they did not show up. The Jakarta Post asked some residents how they were dealing with the holiday hangover.

Henny, 34, teaches at a state high school in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. She lives with her husband and two children in Cilandak, South Jakarta:

I went back to work on Monday but I was very lazy to prepare lessons for my students after 10 days of leave.

We went back to my husband's hometown Surakarta for the Idul Fitri holiday and I am still very tired from the trip.

I am a contract teacher so I have to be diligent and work hard to get promoted to permanent employee status with the Ministry of Education as soon as possible. That's why I went back to work, even though I really wanted to take more time to rest.

Hopefully, I'll be promoted to a full-time teacher early next year. I think I have done good work over the last 10 years.

I didn't want to ruin my reputation by playing truant on the first day back to work after the holiday.

Imelda, 30, is a marketer for a shipping company in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta. She lives with her parents in Cililitan, East Jakarta:

My boss is very strict and he might have fired me if I didn't show up on the first day of work after giving me 12 days off to travel to my hometown Manado in North Sulawesi.

But really there's no work to do in the first week after Idul Fitri because our customers are still on vacation.

That's why I feel so lazy, because I don't have anything to do here.

It would be better just to stay at home and rest rather than spending money getting to the office and buying lunch and then not doing any work.

The last two days I have spent hours on the phone getting in touch with customers, officials at the customs and excise office and friends just to say happy Idul Fitri. -- The Jakarta Post