Basic HTML Version
FPT
Information System (FPT IS) recently be-
came the first ever company in Vietnam
to promulgate a ban on its staff sleeping
in the office during lunchtime.
According to Do Cao Bao, FPT IS’s chairman, the
company’s partners from the US and Netherlands were
shocked when they saw employees sleeping.
“They claimed that napping in the office would
make the company lose face and this would affect its
image,” Bao says.
However, many others claim this regulation is quite
ridiculous because staff should have time to refresh
their energy.
Countering this, Bao argues that taking a nap is
merely a habit and he does not believe that doing so
translates to better productivity post-snooze.
“Evidence shows that half of FPT IS staff do not nap,”
Bao says, adding that in Europe and the United States,
employees do not nap in the office, but their productiv-
ity is many times higher than that of their Vietnamese
counterparts.
According to Hoang Anh Tuan, chairman of Hanoi
Marketing Association, this ban was the right decision.
“FPT IS is one of the most efficient IT companies in
Vietnam and I think that this shows the courage of its
leaders,” he says, adding: “It will improve the profession-
alism and competitiveness of FPT IS staff.”
However Tuan ackowledges that it is not easy to
change this habit, especially as more than 90 per cent
of Vietnamese companies permit their staff to take a nap
after lunch.
FPT Information System has re-
cently brought in a policy pro-
hibiting lunchtime naps at the
workplace, much to the distaste
of many employees
timeout
10
on the job
leeping
SOCIETY AT LARGE