Like they say: It’s all fun and games until you get fired.
Pokémon GO has proven to be a huge hit in Malaysia – so much so that people are reportedly getting fired for playing the game while at work.
A survey conducted by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), The Star Online reports, has revealed that six Malaysian companies have fired workers for playing the augmented reality game at work.
Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan, the executive director of MEF, told the news portal that 150 companies were surveyed in the study, with 95 per cent of them forbidding their employees from firing up (no pun intended) the game during working hours.
“Based on our preliminary findings, six employers, or 4% of the 150 companies, admitted that workers who indulged too much in the game have been dismissed,” Shamsuddin was quoted as saying.
To stop their employees from playing the game, a majority of the companies have reportedly issued warning letters as well as imposing suspensions from work without pay.
Shamsuddin added that the survey also revealed that 25 per cent of the companies polled have caught employees playing Pokémon GO — which was officially launched in Malaysia on August 6 — while at work.
11 per cent of the companies also noted that their employees are taking a longer lunch break just to catch Pokémons, he told the news portal.
Speaking of catching Pokémons, the survey also revealed that 5 per cent of employers found their workers entering restricted areas in their companies to do so.
As such, Shamsuddin revealed that more than half of the companies surveyed — 54 per cent, to be exact — want the game’s developer Niantic Labs to remove Pokéstops (a place for trainers to replenish their Pokémon-catching supplies) and Gyms (a place for trainers to battle other Pokémon trainers) near their office buildings.
However, before you delete the game from your phone, there is still hope yet for budding Pokémon trainers.
“Most employers are still trying to assess the situation. It is too early for us to set a standard policy for all employers on Pokémon GO,” Shamsuddin was further quoted as saying.
