Advance planning helps firms avoid Ramadan productivity dip in Oman

Muscat: Companies that plan ahead of time won’t need to worry about the slow work environment during the holy month of Ramadan as implementing company strategies specific to this month could help curb dips in productivity.
Anvwar Al Balushi, chairman of Anwar Asian Investment, said shorter working hours would increase productivity, but not during Ramadan. He added that the dip in productivity is time related due to the delays in processing certain requests.
“Some private sector companies are connected to the public sector and their work timings during Ramadan are only five hours so there isn’t much you can do in that time span, let alone plan your schedule,” said Al Balushi.
He added, “Also, another factor in the traffic. During Ramadan, most of the cars are on the roads, so even if you want to get somewhere to process your work, for example a visa, you will need to wait and it won’t be done until 12 pm.”
He further clarified that delays are causing a dip in productivity and not businesses themselves.
A parliamentary member of Oman also expressed his opinion, saying that some companies’ low productivity is based on the work attitude of its employees. The member said some locals take Ramadan as an extended holiday and ask customers to come back the next day to process their requests.
While some businesses will be struggling during Ramadan, others will have a strategy in place that will help them through the tough month.
Ahmad Al Hooti, member of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), said, “It depends on the companies’ strategies.”
“If there are companies that depend on a certain work ethic to get the job done and give their employees time off, then they will be (negatively) affected; while other companies that do not require the employee to be available for long hours or can finish the work quickly is given a holiday, and this would not affect the company,” he added.
Some companies have devised a fail safe method to keep their heads above water in order to get through the month.
Retail, beauty and fashion stores will see a rise in sales and business will be booming during the final two weeks of Ramadan as the general public prepares for Eid-Al-Fitr.