NST,Thursday, October 21, 2010
Some bosses are fond of saying that they would employ all the good people they can find to generate more income for the companies.
However, such good staff are rare and are more likely to be their own bosses.
As such, employers would have to settle for workers who are good enough just to keep the organisation’s machinery running smoothly.
We are all for high income economy and high-productivity workers. But how is productivity measured, especially for those with desk-bound jobs?
The cost of an office-based worker may be twice as high as many would think. A fresh graduate drawing a RM1,500 monthly salary is actually earning about RM95 for each working day and not RM50 as commonly perceived.
Many large corporations are now on a five-day week, observe 16 annual public holidays, offer 14 days annual leave for a start and hope that the staff put in an honest day’s work for the rest of the 231 days, excluding medical leave.
The annual income is normally boosted by a month’s salary as bonus. Together with the 12 per cent employer’s contribution to the Employees Provident Fund, the annual cost of the worker goes up to RM21,840 excluding SOCSO contribution and medical expenses.
Therefore, the cost to the company is RM94.55 per working day, or RM13.50 per hour if the worker is on a 9am-to-5pm shift with an hour’s break in between. This is very much higher than what restaurant workers are paid.
As such, it is quite amazing to find office staff, in the public and private sectors, taking long tea breaks.
Maybe they have nothing much to do but it is certain they are not being productive and are overpaid.
Our aspiration to be a high income nation is bogged down by such a lethargic and nonchalant work culture.
YS Chan
Kuala Lumpur
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