What does it feel like to work on one of the country’s longer holidays? Not great, one would assume. We asked the following people – who are in their young age and had to work during Eid – about their experience. What do they feel like they’re missing? What does their job mean to them? Does the nature of their job and what it means to them affect how they view the sacrificing of the holiday for work?
While this obviously doesn’t reflect what the experience of working during Eid means for everyone, their relatable mini-narratives certainly provides us with food for thought on the subject. And hopefully, their answers could encourage us to speak more frankly about our experiences as well.
The only thing I can’t do is switch off my phone – even for an hour – and enjoy just one day without it.
“I don’t have any days off this Eid. I’m the owner of Etlobly_shop, an online page that allows people residing in Egypt to buy pretty much anything they want from the US and the UK. We want to be available for our customers all the time. Throughout this Eid, I’ll be engaging with them, answering their inquiries, and taking and executing their orders.
But it’s not really a problem because I can manage my work from home. I still, however, miss having a day off without receiving any texts or calls. I do love and enjoy my job so much. It allows me to work from almost anywhere most of the time. The only thing I can’t do is switch off my phone – even for an hour – and enjoy just one day without it.”
Mohamed Salah, 24, Owner of Etlobly_shop.
Because we’re all usually very busy, Eid to me is about spending quality time with the most important people in my life; whether they’re friends or family.
“Working in Eid is just a small example of something you’ll have to tolerate. If you don’t believe in what you do or the place you work for then you’ll never be able to withstand any challenges. In my line of work, there are many days where my motive to get out of bed is the sense of ownership over what I do and what is waiting for me at the office.
I‘m a Case Worker at the Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Basically, my job revolves around two roles: distributing cash grants to families of refugees living in Egypt so they could afford their children’s kindergarten fees, and mentoring unaccompanied African refugee children in our Accelerated Learning program. I mentor 60 of the kids in the program, who are school dropouts, with the ultimate goal of guiding them through rejoining a proper educational system. We only got 2 days off this eid so I’ll be working on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. CRS doesn’t necessarily follow the country’s official holidays.
Because we’re all usually very busy, Eid to me is about spending quality time with the most important people in my life; whether they’re friends or family. Hitting North Coast won’t be an option this year since I got to be at work. But I’m not missing any family rituals since they’re usually limited to the first two days, so, I still get to participate in them.
I’m bummed out, obviously. But then I convinced myself that it’s not so bad because: 1) I won’t get stuck in traffic since almost everyone is on holiday (and I live in Zayed and work in Maadi) and 2) I get a lot more quiet time at the office because many people are bridging. This will make me extra productive and I’ll finally get around to all those pending miscellaneous tasks.
This is not the first time this happens, though. So, I guess you could say I’m used to it.”
Yasmine Youssef, 25, Case Worker at the Catholic Relief Services.
I feel really bad about it, because it’s almost the only time of the year where the whole family gathers for a week.
“When I knew I won’t be taking Eid off, my first thought was that I‘ll ruin Eid for my family because we won’t be able to travel now!
I work at Talaat Mostafa Group (TMG). I’m a Senior Sales Executive, so, I basically sell all of their real estate projects. I’ll be working on the last two days of Eid. Our manager believes that some clients might like to pass by the office on their vacation and check out the projects.
Honestly, Eid has been one of the happiest vacations of the year for me ever since I was a child (both Eids, actually). I can describe Eid as four days of being in the comfort zone with my family. We spend it all together in a big house by the sea. Sadly, however, I won’t be accompanying them this year because I’m working.
I feel really bad about it, because it’s almost the only time of the year where the whole family gathers for a week. I’m going to miss that. And even my friends won’t be around! I don’t believe working during this Eid is pressing enough that my right to spend such a holiday with my family and friends is not respected.”
Fatemah Zahran, 23, Senior Sales Executive at Talaat Mostafa Group.
But it feels like I’ve grown up. I didn’t believe that I had grown up to the extent that I have responsibilities… even on public holidays.
“At the beginning of this job, they tell you that not all holidays will be off! It depends on business needs. I’m a Technical Support Engineer at DELL EMC. I troubleshoot the technical issues that our customers face with our products. I’m working all Eid days this year. Unfortunately, we went below the coverage limit at the office, so we couldn’t take any days off.
Eid to me means family. Just sitting all together and having some free time to actually spend with one another. That’s what I’ll miss this Eid. My whole family is traveling and I won’t get the chance to join them and spend that free quality time with them. But it feels like I’ve grown up. I didn’t believe that I had grown up to the extent that I have responsibilities… even on public holidays.”
Menna Sherif, 24, Technical Support Engineer at DELL EMC.
People are more likely to get badly hurt during Eid because of animal slaughter.
“My role at the hospital is very very important, even if my clinical knowledge is yet to build up. When you replace a senior doctor in an Emergency Room (ER) and you manage tens of cases under their supervision, you definitely help a great deal. And that’s where I spent my four days of Eid, the ER. I had no choice but to take these holiday shifts. And ER holiday shifts are the worst. Clinics are shut down during Eid, so, ER becomes almost every patient’s refuge.
People are more likely to get badly hurt during Eid because of the famed ritual of animal slaughter. The more wild fun they have, the more accidents they go through. And at the end of the day we‘re supposed to make things better while being cursed and yelled at to our faces for the poor quality of care and supplies provided by the system. That was challenging to endure.
This is all possible, of course, thanks to our great staff of residents who literally give up their social lives and spend countless nights at endless shifts without getting a break or even receiving the credit they deserve by those up the chain or the patients they actually help.
But I usually don’t do anything exciting during Eid. So, I wasn’t really worked up about missing it. What I like the most about it is the emptiness of the streets. But other than that, I don’t really care or wait for it in anticipation and It’s been this way for a long while now. To me, it only means having more time to spend with the family and visiting all the relatives I haven’t seen for sometime.”
Khaled El Sayed, 25, House Office Medical Doctor at El Kasr El Ainy Hospital.
