UK businesses face four weeks of disruption as employees prepare to find as many excuses as they can to stay at home and watch the FIFA World Cup rather than coming into work, according to a survey released today (14 June 2010). And for those off work legitimately on paternity leave, missing a match might still not be an option as one in five said they would rather miss the birth of their first child than miss their favourite team winning the FIFA World Cup.
Such is the worry, that the UK’s Trade Union Congress (TUC) has stepped into the fray by calling on employers to offer flexible working time during the FIFA World Cup so that employees can watch the matches without having to lie.
Sick Days During the FIFA World Cup
Statistics from a survey by FIFA sponsor Continental Tyres indicate that nine million UK employees will call in sick using 31,850,000 excuses so they can watch the World Cup. To combat this potential drop in productivity, businesses are being urged to introduce greater flexibility, as the TUC believes that without it employers “run the risk of de-motivating staff and losing hours through unauthorised sick days”.
The call has been taken up by unified communications company Outsourcery. Its joint CEO Piers Linney said in a prepared statement: “Businesses need to prevent absenteeism, and by adopting greater flexible working practices, they will benefit from a happier workforce while allowing their employees to be productive and patriotic at the same time.”
He said rather than looking at the FIFA World Cup as a negative in terms of business productivity, businesses should see it as an opportunity to improve relationships with their staff.
And putting its money where its mouth is, Outsourcery is allowing its staff to watch the FIFA World Cup while at work.
Missing Childbirth to Watch the FIFA World Cup
So determined are football fans to see every second of every game, one in five said they would miss the birth of their first child to cheer England onto World Cup glory, according to a survey by online bookmaker Partybets.
More than twenty per cent of respondents said they would be willing to miss the birth of their first son or daughter if it clashed with England’s appearance in the World Cup final. The survey did not say how fans who were actually giving birth would manage – maybe a television in the maternity ward.
And a quarter of supporters said they would miss the funeral of a friend or family member if it clashed with the big event while 29.3 per cent would be prepared to miss or cancel their own wedding.
The same survey also brought more gloomy news for employers with three quarters of employees willing to take a day off sick to watch matches.
See also Employees planning to Watch the World Cup at Work.
Steve Rogerson - Steve Rogerson is a UK-based writer specialising in television, technology, sports and beer.
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