A record number of workers are planning to give the office the red card this summer and watch every single World Cup game.
According to a report by Manchester-based food firm Kellogg’s 7.4 million UK workers – over 15% of the working population - are planning to catch every match which could result in an unauthorised sickness epidemic this summer.
Only one in ten workers say they will actually be allowed to take time off for the games which could prove a headache for businesses especially with England’s last group game against Slovenia starting at 4pm UK time.
Football mad law firms could be the worst hit as lawyers are the profession most likely to watch all the games while sales and media workers are the most inclined to pull a “sickie”.
A fifth of workers are considering taking time off to watch the football or recover from the night before, however only 1 in 20 workers said they were happy to use their own holidays to do so.
The research revealed a quarter of workers said they will be suspicious of their colleagues if they take time off sick during the world cup but a fifth would happily cover for their work mates when they pull a “sickie”.
Unsurprisingly almost a fifth of workers surveyed said they would be more likely to work for a company that gives them time off or offers flexible working to watch the World Cup matches.
Karen McCormick, European VP of HR at Kellogg’s said:
“We offer employees flexible working so they can benefit from leaving the office early if they want to watch the late afternoon matches or perhaps spend longer in bed the following day.
“Kellogg’s head office staff can also take Friday afternoons off during summer which can be useful if they’re going on a long weekend with family or just want to spend more time outside or catching up with the world cup football.
“To make it as easy as possible for employees to make the most of the World Cup without compromising work we will also be showing England’s last group game at head office on a big screen and where appropriate we will ensure our plant staff can catch some of the games when they are on shift with TVs in the canteen.”
