It can’t have escaped your notice, even if you wanted it to, that the World Cup is upon us. The next four weeks will provide us with blanket coverage of football’s showpiece and many of us are looking forward to catching some of the games. England’s first two matches are being played on a Saturday and Friday night respectively, allowing lots of fans to watch from home or in the pub, however their final group game is being played at three o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon.
This could create more of a problem. Many will be at work at that time and a YouGov survey has already indicated that a considerable number are planning to be out of the office when the game kicks off with some even considering ‘throwing a sickie’ in order to watch the game.
What can employers do to try and keep employees at work? Well James Stephenson, head of employment law at Winston Solicitors believes that the World Cup can be a positive experience and that employers should use the tournament as an opportunity to try and boost staff morale. He says that by taking action to consult with staff they can minimise any disruption that the World Cup can cause.
He says: “Some employers may consider setting up TV sets in the office so that employees who want to watch games can do so together. Other ideas could see those wanting to watch games having a couple of hours off so long as they make the time up later. Some may also want to consider a flexitime schedule whereby staff could swap shifts with those who are happy to work during the games. All these ideas show that employers can be flexible when considering the World Cup, they will help to keep people in the workplace and should also help staff morale.”