Monday, May 21, 2012

heat & sri lankan working hours

it is time that we, sri lankans, reconsider the 9 to 5 working hours for regular jobs, a leftover from genocidal british empire.
esp in these months when the heat experienced by the ppl in south western part of the island (most populous part)is at height. while i am not now employed in such a job, i was for a time about a decade ago. i remember it was impossible to do anything with energy during afternoon.

working for more or less 8+ hours continuously midday was never a norm here or elsewhere. more to the point, nor is it the most productive.

it was not the way with sri lankans employed in agriculture. nor in mediterranean region (where ppl have siestas) and many other places. even now many independent professional ppl, (and lots of shop keepers too) take time off in afternoon making up the lost time through a later closing time.

current working hours are suited to northern europe and similar regions. not to us.

i am well aware of practical difficulties in changing this. nor do i advocate government trying to do so through regulation. government may change its hours and remove any regulations that enforce current hours, but it should not impose new ones on private firms and individuals.

in any case sri lankans, as individuals and institutions, should start to think about this more seriously.

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