The FIFA World Cup is finally upon us and while football fans, vuvuzelas aside, have been enjoying the first week of games, employers have a difficult decision to make when it comes to England’s game against Slovenia on Wednesday 23 June at 3pm UK time. Passionate debates about football are all too common, but there is one debate that takes place every four years – namely whether employers should give their staff time off to watch their national team play in the World Cup.

GfK data shows that 5% of employees are going to be allowed time off or be granted flexible working hours to fit around England’s match against Slovenia (this includes GfK NOP). Although this seems fairly small it still shows that employers are willing to let their staff take time off because of a football fixture. Most companies will doubtless have already made their decision regarding their position on this matter, but for the few remaining who are yet to make an official announcement, we would urge that they give the go ahead to watch the match.

Employers allowing their staff to watch the game or arrange flexible working around it will not only have made the correct decision for their football loving employees, but more importantly they have made the correct decision for their business. GfK data shows that 78% of staff allowed to watch the game away from their desk will feel more positive towards their employer, with 68% of the same group also saying that they feel more motivated to work during a World Cup.

Employers may lose their headcount for what will effectively amount to a full afternoon, but the benefits from doing so will help to keep their workforce engaged during June and July this year: employers allowing their staff to watch the game will be rewarded with a motivated and productive workforce whilst positively enhancing their image as an employer.

Conversely, our survey data shows that not allowing time off may have a negative impact on a business – 20% of employees not being given time off to watch the game say they now feel more negatively towards their employer, and  17% of respondents state they will feel less motivated as a result of the decision. Furthermore, the majority of those not allowed are likely to be watching the game anyway – the growth in streaming live content through the internet means that watching the match at work is really only a few clicks away. For the 7% of employees who are not allowed time off work  this could be an option that has previously been impossible.

A lot has been made about employees streaming the action from South Africa through their PC or mobile device and crippling the networks within their office walls. So much in fact that FIFA has installed 75 supercomputers in the town of Slough to cope with increased data usage*. The precautions taken by FIFA may not be fully justified as GfK data shows that 23% of those not granted time off work will be listening to live radio commentary while streaming via PC and mobile will only account for 9% and 3% respectively.

With companies already having taken a stance on the issue of the World Cup it is clear to see that those employers officially allowing their staff to watch the game will reap the benefits for the business in the long term and boost company loyalty.  It’s really a no-brainer – although whether people actually want to watch the match following England’s terrible performance against Algeria is less of a certainty…

* Sources for used figures & quotations:

http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/fifa-houses-75-supercomputers-in-uk-for-world-cup-693600

RESEARCH NOTES:

GfK NOP Technology conducted a survey among 996 UK adults in June 2010. The interviews were conducted online and are representative on UK adults who have access to the internet.

Image From:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shine2010/4615577330/

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Tags: Employee Satisfaction, Internet Streaming, Mobile Data Usage, World Cup