12 Jan 2015

Earning a living is what every person is propelled to do, especially in an era where money matters the most.

While a small number of the population in the country has the pleasure of waking up at their own time while earning a living through their private businesses, some have to wake up in the early hours of the morning and be in their workplaces before 7:30am.

As some people work for government departments in the country, they are expected to be in their workplace doing the work they get paid for every month by 7:30am. To some, this is a dreaded time that still has many wondering who really settled for such an early morning time.

Thirty-two-year-old Mr Relebogile Setapenyane, who works as an education officer in Francistown, said 7:30 am was early but he was propelled to comply because there was nothing he could do about it.

“When I started working, I found the situation like that and I cannot really change what has been there for several decades, but if it was according to me, I would prefer 8:30am because 7:30am is just too early,” he said.

He said he realised that when one does not get enough sleep, they become unproductive hence it would be better to start work at 8:30am and end at 5:30pm.

Another individual, Ms Keamogetse Segaetsho, aged 32, who works for the Department of Road Transport and Safety (DRTS) concured that 7:30am was too early.

“We all know that the sleep in the morning is more essential. In other words, the early hours of the morning sleep gives the rest one requires. I think 8:30am to 5:30pm would be better,” she said. She said with the 7:30am slot, she feels like a high school student because one was up much earlier.

Another concern for Ms Segaetsho is for those who commute because for them it means they have to wake up much earlier in order to be in the offices at the right time. She said that in itself hinders productivity.

“I travel from Tati Siding every morning and I find that at times I fall asleep in the office because I do not get enough sleep. I think if they could at least make it 8:30am, it would prove better for a lot of people,” she said.

During the winter season, 7:30am becomes a draining issue simply because it becomes even harder to wake up in the early hours of the morning because of the cold conditions.

Ms Kelebogile Sentsho, 35, and who works as a teacher at Mophato Primary School believes it would be better for the slot to be 8:30am to half 5:30pm.

She said not just for them as teachers but also for pupils because some of them walk long distances to school and were  obliged to wake up much earlier in the morning.

“I find that sometimes when I am teaching, especially in the winter season, some pupils fall asleep in class, especially in the morning. This is for the simple reason that they do not get enough sleep,” she opined.

One might argue that sleeping early is the solution, but according to an online opinion, chances of one acquiring sleep inertia increase when one wakes up in the early hours of the morning.

This is simply because those are the hours in which people acquire the much needed rest and sleeping before 10pm is not recommended as it has proven to be ineffective in terms of acquiring rest.

Sleep inertia is a temporary period of reduced alertness and impaired cognition and its effects on performance, like sleep loss, includes a slowing of responses, loss of accuracy, increased attention lapses and reduced alertness.

It appears until the powers that be heed to the suggested time changes, the time will always be dreaded by many employees and students. ENDS