Soccer at work: Cup fever strikes



By Fran Metcalf    

Absenteeism is expected to spike over the next few weeks as soccer fans burn the midnight oil to watch their favourite teams compete in the World Cup.

The time difference between Australia and South Africa, where the FIFA World Cup is being staged until July 11, means football fans Down Under will need to be awake at midnight and the early hours of the morning to catch the action on television.

The first match for the Socceroos against Germany was televised here at 4am on June 14, triggering the first spike in absenteeism.

Some employers like Sophie Macdonald, co-owner of Skye Recruitment at Stafford, put plans in place weeks ago to ensure her business wasn’t left short-handed by bleary-eyed football fans.

Staff were asked to nominate which days they wanted off over the four-week competition with a policy of first in, first served.

“I asked staff to put their leave applications in early, even if it was just for a day or two, to make sure we had coverage for the office,” says Macdonald who has 16 staff.

But Australia’s third World Cup bid is likely to have an impact beyond tired faces at the office, warns Randstad recruitment’s chief executive officer, Deb Loveridge.

She says employees are likely to watch replays on computers in the office, have post match pow-wows, track their tipping competitions and participate in online forums.

And in a country with such a diverse culture, it won’t just be the Socceroos people are tuning in to see, Loveridge says.

Employers should expect late starts and absenteeism after Australia’s match against Serbia at 4.30am on June 24 as well as the final match which airs at 4.30am on July 12.

“England’s World Cup games, for example, will be just as well-watched by Australia’s significant British population,” she says.

That’s certainly true for British-born Macdonald who is an avid soccer fan herself and will be barracking for England. She knows from experience that the World Cup has potential to create staffing problems.

“I’m from the UK and I worked for a recruitment firm over there where it was a big issue,” she says.

“The company I worked for was large – about 80 or 100 staff – so they put strenuous processes in place for the duration of the Cup like regimented lunch break times so staff could get to the pub down the road to watch the matches they wanted to see.

“For the English matches, staff had to elect whether they wanted to watch the first or the second half and they were put on a roster so that everyone got to watch at least half of the match they wanted to see.”

One of Macdonald’s employees, Jamie Holden, was the first to apply for leave. He has 10 days off and plans to watch soccer every day.

“I already had my hand up when Sophie asked who wanted leave,” says Holden, 24. “I don’t play soccer myself but I love to watch it. Australia has a tough draw so it’ll be interesting to see if we can make it through.”

Some companies will undoubtedly view the World Cup as an annoying distraction but Loveridge says employers should use the sporting event to build employee morale through celebration and a culture of teamwork.

“Allowing people to express their emotions and be passionate about this global sporting event can have a positive impact on their overall happiness and mental attitude in the workplace,” she says.

“Themed marketing and business development activities can also be effective tools to generate sales and build stronger relationships with staff and customers.”

Employers who fear they’ll be left in the lurch can access a guide drawn up by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in the UK which suggests different ways for employees to enjoy matches without adversely affecting the needs of the business.

The CIPD “World Cup and Absence Management” guide (www.cipd.co.uk) suggests flexible working hours, shift swaps, unpaid leave and providing a special screen to show matches on work premises.

Article from The Courier Mail, June, 2010.