The big problem for soccer fans during this South Africa-based World Cup is that it takes place during working hours, which means many will miss most of it unless they watch it openly or surreptitiously. How are companies dealing with the situation?
In many instances viewing permissiveness seems to depend on which country a company is in. Despite Credit Suisse Group AG's enthusiastic offering of a soccer viewing facilities for its London workers, elsewhere in fiscally suffering Europe, home to many strong soccer teams, 22% of employees report workplace viewing bans, the highest percentage in any region.
Meanwhile in relatively prosperous Canada where World Cup watching has reached epic proportions, and Asia, companies are turning a benign eye. In India, despite having no team in the running, 30 percent of businesses allow it. (Interest is so great that a Delhi-based high tech company has a prominent advertising position along the pitch in many games.)
Unlike in Italy where Fiat SpA reports up to 500 medical notes from workers wanting to watch games, workplace viewing is not a major issue in the United States despite the strong showing of its team. This may change considering the huge numbers of American fans that converged on South Africa for the Cup.
Manage Their Workloads
Shawn Nisenboim of TimeTiger, an international time management company, explained to this writer that there has been a sea change in how some companies view their workplaces. Nowadays, it seems that many managers want to trust their employees to manage their workloads. They don't want to be seen as stifling creativity and innovation. Nisenboim believes, " allowing employees flexibility over how they spend their time improves productivity. Let's face it, we're not going to stop people watching the World Cup during the work day, nor do we necessarily want to but if they are expected to track their time, they are more likely to self-regulate."
Friendly Flexible Workplace
For permissive employers then it's all about offering prized workers a sense of responsibility and a flexible workplace. After all, in many cases, managers have winnowed piles of resumes and gone through days of interviews to find them. WFC Resources makes a strong case for corporate flexibility. After posting a survey for work-life professionals on their homepage they discovered that the need to reduce absenteeism was top of mind and that offering flexibility was one way to help prevent it.
Employee Morale
Nissenboim says that companies recognize that employees need a lift to their spirits after living through the rigors of the great recession and that watching the World Cup does that. Says Jeff Quin of Monster.com. "There's generally a feel-good factor for any major sporting event and watching sports can be a great team bonding experience." Bloomberg News reports that Michael Rendell of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP concurs,"There is huge goodwill both in terms of employee engagement and in productivity to be gained from accommodating flexible working requests or allowing staff to take a couple of hours out to watch the games."
There is a huge amount of research about the importance of raising employee morale. Several separate studies by Texas, Vanderbilt and Purdue Universities and the "Great Place to Work Institute" found raised morale increases a company's profits measurably.
Monitoring Employee Productivity
Even if the jury is out on viewing the World Cup at work in most of Europe, elsewhere companies are seeing their permissive attitude towards employee viewing at work as a way of signaling that they are flexible and trust their workers to keep up with productivity. If it works who knows how many privileges will ensue.
Ann Berkeley - Over some years, I covered major news events - the capture of James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King's murderer, the hippie phenomenon, the ...
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