Productivity improves after Eid holiday, says logistics boss

Speaking to Arabian Business, Sebastian Stefan, co-founder and CEO of Load-Me, said time off work helps employees recover from strenuous routines in industries such as logistics.

“Productivity is very good after the holidays, because our employees will take the time to recover. It’s good to take a break. We’re not machines to work all the time. In the end, it’s good to break the routine. And that will boost productivity immediately after Eid. I’ve noticed this as a manager,” he said.

Impact of holidays

While Stefan believes holidays ultimately boost performance, he points out the disruption they create in sectors that are reliant on elements such as border crossings and clearances.

“Holidays disrupt the supply chain for various reasons. Firstly, consumer behaviour changes during this time. Stocks will need to be increased before the holiday. Another reason is that days off in the public sector are effecting transit time so you have delayed border crossing and clearance. All these will add extra time on the transit,” he said.

Stefan advised companies to plan accordingly in order to cope with disruptions generated during the holiday, warning against losing customers due to inefficient service.

“If you’re not prepared, you can end up without food on your shelves and consumers will switch their product to the competitor’s product. And this might be a permanent switch. That’s the worst that can happen. Expect to lose lifetime customers. It happens. If you’re not prepared, this will happen,” he said, adding that emergencies will cause firms to ship by air, which can be 10 times costlier than shipping by land.

Boost to business

On the other hand, sectors including aviation and hospitality have seen a boost in activity during the Islamic holiday.

Emirates airline, for example, witnessed a rise in bookings in the week before Eid, with nearby destinations such as Beirut, Cairo, Amman, Jeddah being the most popular cities. Pakistan, India, Europe and the Far East also proved to be favourites.

“With Eid around the corner, we are registering a healthy increase in bookings during this period as passengers travel from the UAE for short holidays during the Eid period,” said an Emirates spokesperson.

Hotel giant Hilton also revealed a “significant” spike in demand for its hotels across the region during Eid Al-Adha.

“Hilton sees a significant spike in demand for our hotels across the region during Eid as people come together to celebrate, and to take advantage of the holidays. We also see strong domestic demand in key countries such as here in the UAE, across KSA and in other key markets, including Turkey… [We] certainly we see a high demand for our brands across the region during this period,” said William Costley, VP Operations Arabian Peninsula and Turkey, Hilton.