Busy doing Nothing!

Don’t ask me why, but, whenever something needs to be done urgently there are usually a good number of reasons why inaction took its course.

My favourite is the classic “Lupa”. Literally this means I forgot. Even with nothing else on the schedule, one single task to be accomplished in the whole day, “I forgot” is still given as a reasonable answer to any questions. Lupa is regarded as a suitably acceptable reason for inactivity and spells trouble for any manager who wishes to confront an employee on this answer.

Sickness comes a close second. In all fairness, it is very easy to get sick in Indonesia. Employers within the country are obliged to cover family medical expenses which could be financially crippling to the individual dependant on the degree of malaise.

My all time favourite on the medical report was when, within a company I know an employee did not make it to work and a critically important task was not completed.

The said fellow arrived the next day with a medical certificate citing cause of illness as being what I can only presume is a disease called “Octopus”. To this day I have not met anyone who can verify the existence of this condition. Privately, it can be assumed that he plain forgot to come to work! (See paragraph two for reference).

“We’ve never done things this way” is another good excuse. With the introduction of western work practices, including an emphasis on safety and the environment, there is always the option to claim ignorance of work procedures to ensure an allotted task is left by the wayside. The raising of the technical barrier within the workplace merely ensures that there are more things which just do not get done.

“In progress” is another way of saying “I haven’t started this task yet”. When asked for confirmation of the status on any given assignment, be very worried with the expression “In progress” is the response. This also is indicative of a task that the employee does not wish to tackle due to its seeming complexity.

Getting things accomplished with all of the above factors invariably means there will be a delay! Indonesia even has a way around this issue.

Liquidated Damages on any contract is the mechanism whereby Indonesia understands that nothing will happen when it is supposed to happen. Accordingly, when you submit a tender stating that you can deliver the goods or services within two weeks and it is known that it will take ten weeks, build the penalties into the cost of the contract and you don’t loose anything. Dead easy to make a profit, no loss and no-one ever raises an eyebrow on the subject.

Only in Indonesia……….