Seychelles Nation: Should local businesses change their opening hours?

By Sabrina Sabino | Published: September 12, 2011

The following blog article was written by: Sabrina Sabino on September 12, 2011.

Should local businesses change their opening hours?

I was talking to a non-Seychellois about this exact topic a few weeks ago. He found it odd that people here in Seychelles are ‘spoiled’ to that extent, i.e. almost everyone takes their lunch from 12pm to 1pm without fail. The topic came up because I was working during the supposed lunch hour. He’s someone who had opened a business in the past, and he told me that he opened shop at 6am!

This has also been a topic of discussion between my sister and I. We were hanging out one day during the lunch hour and she received a call from someone who expected her to be at the office working. So we found it really odd because it’s so much part of the lifestyle here…how can you expect someone to be working at this time when you’re taking a break?

In Shanghai, offices including banks are open throughout lunch time. Except they’d have about half or a quarter of the number of staff working during lunchtime. Maybe it’s a bonus thing (i.e. if you work through lunch you get a lunch bonus?).

Seychelles is definitely getting there though. One day we’ll be just like these busy commercially-developed countries and we’ll be like “lunch? What lunch…do I look like I have time to even eat?”

That would be really cool.

Oh look, it’s 11:55am and I’m blogging.