Adjustment hiccups as Bangladesh enforces new office timings

Earlier-than-usual traffic rush on key roads, few public buses and low office turnout in the early morning marked the first day of the rescheduled office hours on Wednesday.    

After the opening at 8am, the presence of officials at the Secretariat was comparatively less than usual. However, the attendance of the low-tier staff was normal.  

A number of government employees said they were trying to cope up with the new routine, as it is "difficult to change" the daily routine just overnight. Others, however, claimed they could not reach office in time due to traffic jams.

After visiting at least 15 ministries at the Secretariat from 8am to 10am on Wednesday morning, it was found that some ministers and secretaries were yet to reach their workstations.

As per the new work hours, public, semi-government and autonomous offices now open at 8am instead of previous 9am, and continue till 3pm. In line with new office hours, banks run customer services from 9am to 3pm. By reducing the office time by an hour, the government rescheduled the timings to save electricity and ease traffic jams. 

But the first day of the new office timings met with earlier-than-usual traffic rush on key roads in the capital.  

As the opening time has been brought forward by an hour, huge crowds thronged almost every street of Dhaka from 7am on Wednesday morning. But there were fewer buses on the road at that time, forcing the office-goers to wait for a long time for public transport.

Classes start at 7:30 in the morning in most schools in Dhaka. As a result, offices and schools were crowded almost at the same time, causing traffic jams at several points of the capital an hour earlier than the regular time.

A passenger said it used to take 40 minutes to reach his office in Dhaka's Mohakhali from Basabo residence. But on Wednesday, it took him around one and a half hours.

At around 8:15am in the morning, a personal aide was hastily entering his office at the Ministry of Labour and Employment. He said he left his Rayerbagh residence at 7am. It took more than an hour to reach the Secretariat.

At 8:30 in the morning, many senior labour and employment ministry officials were not found at the office. In the Ministry of Youth and Sports too, none of the policymakers were seen in office in the new schedule.

Local Government Minister Tazul Islam said they will review the new timings. If the outputs are found to be positive, the new office schedule will continue.

About the traffic congestion, the minister said, "When office hours were at 9am-5pm, the problem was still out there. It is an old issue."

Compared to the offices, banks had better staff turnout Wednesday. Bankers said their clients were few and far between in the first hour.

A number of bankers said the rescheduled banking time is not likely to yield any benefit. 

"Although banks now open earlier, the business activities including the market start at around 10am. As a result, the transactions will be the same as before. Only individual customers can come a little earlier if they want," a manager of a bank in the capital's Dhanmondi area told The Business Standard on condition of anonymity.