A serious proposal
On a Sunday morning all I want to do is get out of bed slowly, get my tea, sit out in the warm morning sun and read The Kathmandu Post. I want to read and spend time with family or maybe take a short trip outside of the Valley and get refreshed. But, what could potentially be a relaxing Sunday Funday becomes a rushed first day of the working week. This is the case for the majority of Nepal’s employed professionals.
The six-day working week is a rare practice if you look at international norms. Abroad, it’s usually a 40-hour, five-day working week. This practice has its origins in Christian, Jewish and Muslim customs. Some Muslim countries have Friday and Saturday off for Friday prayers. Irrespective of which days are off-days, the international trend is to have a five-day working week. Nepal is the only country that follows the Vedic calendar with Sunday as the first day of the week and Saturday as the rest day. India used to follow it as well but is slowly switching to the international standard. Rooted in Hindu traditions, the six-day working week has become a part of Nepali custom. Since Nepal is no longer a Hindu state and has been declared secular, should we still follow the Vedic calendar?
Nepal should move away from this custom and follow the international trend of a five-day working week. This can be easily done by switching office hours which are currently from 10-5, to 9-5. We could put the morning hours to use and keep the working hours unchanged. Alternatively, the two-day weekend could be made optional. But this might adversely affect office dynamics and team spirit with employees having different schedules.
International organisations, NGOs and private enterprises emulating international standards have a five-day working week. For the rest, the daily grind goes on for six days. Some argue that it increases productivity and that we need to work harder because we are a poor country. But almost all developed countries have a five-day working week, and that’s always been the case. So the argument that we need to work harder because we are poor doesn’t hold.
I’ve asked many people why we do not have Sundays off in Nepal. A response that struck me was: “Nepali people spend a lot of time at work chatting and get less work done. That’s why we need an extra day.” This response is problematic. First, it negatively stereotypes Nepali employees and second, it assumes that an extra day of work will make employees more productive or they will, at the least, compensate for lost time.
The six-day work week can, in fact, reduce productivity. From simple economic theory, you could argue that diminishing marginal productivity kicks in—the more you work, your concentration decreases and so does your productivity. Employers in Nepal tend to overlook the fact that well-rested employees are more alert and able to make better decisions.
As for employees shirking at work, it is a principal-agent problem where agents (employees) do not always act in the principal’s (employer) best interest. This problem caused by asymmetric information is faced by organisations all over the world. An extra day at work is not the solution. To address this problem, employers can adopt other measures that include monitoring methods or a combination of sticks (penalties such as blocking facebook) and carrots (perks such as bonuses).
A strong argument against a two-day weekend is that we have numerous festivals. Dashain and Tihar holidays used to take up almost a month. However, employers forget that over the years, they have been encroaching on the number of religious and national holidays. Also, employed professionals who take vacations to travel or spend more time with family fall in the minority. Because Nepali professionals do not always go on vacations, holidays during the festive seasons compensate for it. Therefore, a two-day weekend would not equate to adding more holidays. It would only mean giving Nepali professionals the leisure time that they deserve.
Kathmandu, like many other capital cities around the world, is becoming competitive, busy and stressful. Work-life balance, therefore, becomes increasingly important for the health of the employee, the employee’s family and for the economy. Moreover, more leisure time does not necessarily mean wasted time. Employees can spend their free time with their family. They can travel. They can explore new hobbies and passions outside work and build multi-dimensional personalities.
Saturday flies by at the speed of light. You have one day to relax, wash clothes (for those without washing machines or maids, this is a time consuming task), hang out with friends and families, go shopping or go for a movie. There is only so much one can do in one day. With a second day off, you could read, take that photography or language course or a kick-boxing session that you have been wanting to for so long. You could even contemplate about your work and think of ways to improve how you work.
A five-day working week will be a cultural departure that will make employees happier. With more time at hand to invest in themselves, Nepal’s employed professional can unleash new potentials.
Posted on: 2011-10-23 08:10
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