Asleep on the Job!

Asleep on the job!!!  I don’t go too many days without seeing an employee of some random business in China who has fallen asleep on the job!  Maybe not in a high profile position such as Vice President Joe Biden, who was accused of sleeping during the President’s speech a while back, or air traffic controllers who have recently been found sleeping during working hours, but asleep, just the same. I wonder what part of the Chinese employee handbook addresses sleeping on the job? Or does it?  There are so many people seen asleep on the job over here, that the handbook might not include topics such as sleeping on the job.

This rickshaw driver might have more business if he were awake!

Asleep at the Museum gift shop....intentional sleep? or accidental doze?

I regret not having a camera handy on a couple of occasions when I stumbled upon some employees who were not taking the job very seriously.  My favorite was the security guard who was supposed to be watching the bags that passed through the x-ray machine on the conveyor belt during a recent trip on the subway in Shanghai.  Not one person placed their bags on the belt as they passed through the turnstile, and I must admit, I was one of them.  There was no reason to do so, as the guy was sound asleep.

Not sure how the zookeeper could sleep with 20 kids screaming past him, but he didn't budge!

Next was while I was swimming laps at the gym I joined in Shanghai.  You probably guessed it, the lifeguard was sound asleep up in his tall chair.  His head was tilted over the back of the chair and his mouth was hanging open.  I didn’t know whether to swim loudly or just try and glide by him and let him sleep, so I just let him sleep.  It wasn’t that crowded anyway.

Yet another incident that made me chuckle and wish for a camera were the two waitresses who were asleep, with heads down on the table (dirty) and cleaning rags in hand !

So with unemployment so high in the states, I recommend you give China a try.  Many employers don’t seem to have very high expectations from their employees. I guess one qualification might be not to snore too loudly.  So check into that work visa and come on over!!