One in four employees plans to take time off or reduce working hours to watch the World Cup
Companies in Central and Eastern Europe are poised to experience a major drop in productivity during the month of June as large numbers of employees take time off to watch the football World Cup, according to the results of a new survey released by EuropeTalent.com.
The survey report, entitled "The Football World Cup and Employee Productivity" has just been published. The survey, which was conducted just before the start of the tournament, asked 1,300 professionals in five countries across the region whether they planned to take any time off work to watch the World Cup. The countries covered by the survey included Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, Romania and Ukraine. About 26% of participants in the survey indicated that they would be taking some time off. Of these 17% intended to work shorter days, 6% planned to take days off using their annual leave, while the remaining 3% simply planned to report sick and stay home to watch the games.
Do you plan to take time off work to watch the World Cup?
6%
Yes, I will request days off using my annual leave
3%
Yes, I will report sick and stay at home to watch the games
17%
I will not take full days off, but will work shorter days during the World Cup
74%
No, I will not take any time off work
Source: EuropeTalent.com Survey
EuropeTalent.com's survey also asked employers and those in managerial positions whether they would allow their subordinates time off to watch the games. About 60% of the employers surveyed planned to give time off to employees, although the ratio was slightly higher for managers who were themselves interested in football, and lower for those who were not. Female managers were less likely to agree to time off for their staff to watch the games. A small percentage of managers intended to refuse leave for their staff, even though they reported planning to take time off themselves to watch the games.
Implications for Business
Commenting on the findings, a EuropeTalent.com analyst who led the study said "The findings confirm what most employers expected - that there is going to be a productivity slump during the World Cup this month. Pre-planned absences from work are only part of the story. The actual level of absenteeism is likely to be even higher, due to post-match celebrations or lack of sleep, as fans stay up till the early hours of the morning."
With the summer season arriving shortly after the World Cup, businesses may be poised for a longer than usual slow period, regaining their momentum again only in September.
World Cup Guidelines for Employers
Consult staff to gauge the level of interest in the games and their working preferences – e.g. which games they consider ‘must see’ and how they prefer to make up for lost time (by coming in to work earlier, working over the weekend, etc.)
Make a realistic assessment of your business load during the World Cup period and the required human resources to function smoothly, allowing some margin for unplanned reductions in available man-hours
Taking into account your resource requirements as well as staff preferences to the extent possible, lay out a clear policy on the level of World Cup related absence that employees could enjoy, and determine how the policy would apply to different functions or departments
Clearly and effectively communicate the policy to staff at all levels, explaining the rationale behind it as well as details of its supervision and enforcement
Brief supervisors and managers on the policy, and their role in communicating, supervising and enforcing it
Where possible, show the popular World Cup games in the workplace, ideally using the occasion as team building and morale boosting opportunities
Introduce an alcohol policy, including rationale for the policy, its details, enforcement procedure and disciplinary actions for offenders
Closely monitor absence and sickness records, productivity metrics, as well as records of disciplinary actions to identify any undesirable patterns emerging
Source: EuropeTalent.com
International Comparison
The productivity problem is not confined to the countries surveyed. According to estimates by Tenon, a UK-based accounting firm, British companies stand to lose 500 million pounds this June due to World Cup related sick leave and post-match sluggishness, with this figure expected to rise if England makes it into the final rounds.
Tens of thousands of Dutch workers phoned in ill during the European Championships in Portugal in 2004, with sickness levels rising 20 percent on days when the Dutch national side played. SEZ, a Dutch insurance company, recently launched a new insurance policy allowing employers in the country to insure themselves against the sudden rise in staff sick days expected during this month's World Cup.
Many companies in Western Europe have tackled the issue by providing facilities for staff to watch selected games at work, while communicating clear guidelines on acceptable leave policy. In the countries surveyed, around 15% of respondents reported having facilities provided by their employer to watch the World Cup in their place of work, compared to 20% reported in similar surveys for the UK.
