Is the drop in productivity during Ramadan a myth?
31 July 2013
Read by 1580 persons
Interview of El Watan with Samir Toumi, general manager Team Consulting International
- Is the drop in workplace productivity during Ramadan as significant as described, compared to the rest of the year?
To my knowledge, no serious study exists on the subject, at least in Algeria. I will therefore stick to the perceptions and feedback from business leaders. It would seem that overall, productivity tends to decrease during the month of Ramadan, but in a much less caricatured way than one might think. Everyone agrees that the work pace is "calmer". The downward trend in activity would be more noticeable in the last two weeks of Ramadan, certainly because of the pace of evenings and accumulated fatigue.
Note that some sectors experience peaks of activity during Ramadan, I am thinking of companies operating in the agri-food sector or advertising agencies. Finally, operators also agree that activity decreases significantly within administrations during the month of Ramadan, with an impact that seems significant on the activity of businesses.
- Some business leaders reduce working hours. Is this a mandatory choice to anticipate absenteeism, or does it respond to other considerations?
This is indeed a relevant choice and a way to integrate Ramadan, in the same way as the summer months or the end of the year, into the overall rhythm of the company's annual economic activity. It is useless to ignore the fact that during Ramadan, the rhythm of life of Algerians at work becomes particular. This fact being integrated, the reduction of hours can be a clever way to curb absenteeism and maintain a correct level of productivity. Some companies even reduce the official working day by one hour, which this year will be from 9 am to 4 pm, knowing that managers will have to go beyond that depending on their workload. I haven't heard of companies offering their employees to work after the f'tour time. This is an option I've seen elsewhere that could be perfectly suitable for certain sectors of activity.
- Can we measure the impact of this drop in productivity on the results of companies and on the economy in general?
Technically, it is possible to do so. For a company, it would be enough to compare the turnover of the month of Ramadan to those of the other months of the year, and to analyze the gap to identify what could really be attributed to the economic context related to Ramadan. The evolution of the absenteeism rate can also be analyzed. Once again, no serious study has been carried out on this subject to date. It would be interesting to do so. It would make it possible to give real visibility to the problem and the economic impact of Ramadan on our economy. We could also challenge some preconceived ideas and develop more reliable adapted work rhythms.
Posted on July 31, 2013
- Is the drop in workplace productivity during Ramadan as significant as described, compared to the rest of the year?
To my knowledge, no serious study exists on the subject, at least in Algeria. I will therefore stick to the perceptions and feedback from business leaders. It would seem that overall, productivity tends to decrease during the month of Ramadan, but in a much less caricatured way than one might think. Everyone agrees that the work pace is "calmer". The downward trend in activity would be more noticeable in the last two weeks of Ramadan, certainly because of the pace of evenings and accumulated fatigue.
Note that some sectors experience peaks of activity during Ramadan, I am thinking of companies operating in the agri-food sector or advertising agencies. Finally, operators also agree that activity decreases significantly within administrations during the month of Ramadan, with an impact that seems significant on the activity of businesses.
- Some business leaders reduce working hours. Is this a mandatory choice to anticipate absenteeism, or does it respond to other considerations?
This is indeed a relevant choice and a way to integrate Ramadan, in the same way as the summer months or the end of the year, into the overall rhythm of the company's annual economic activity. It is useless to ignore the fact that during Ramadan, the rhythm of life of Algerians at work becomes particular. This fact being integrated, the reduction of hours can be a clever way to curb absenteeism and maintain a correct level of productivity. Some companies even reduce the official working day by one hour, which this year will be from 9 am to 4 pm, knowing that managers will have to go beyond that depending on their workload. I haven't heard of companies offering their employees to work after the f'tour time. This is an option I've seen elsewhere that could be perfectly suitable for certain sectors of activity.
- Can we measure the impact of this drop in productivity on the results of companies and on the economy in general?
Technically, it is possible to do so. For a company, it would be enough to compare the turnover of the month of Ramadan to those of the other months of the year, and to analyze the gap to identify what could really be attributed to the economic context related to Ramadan. The evolution of the absenteeism rate can also be analyzed. Once again, no serious study has been carried out on this subject to date. It would be interesting to do so. It would make it possible to give real visibility to the problem and the economic impact of Ramadan on our economy. We could also challenge some preconceived ideas and develop more reliable adapted work rhythms.
Posted on July 31, 2013
