According to a survey by Fifa sponsor Continental Tyres, 25% of workers plan to ‘pull a sickie’ to watch the World Cup this June. That breaks down to more than 9 million UK employees calling in sick for an average of 3.5 days during the month-long tournament.
To call in sick, football fanatics could use more than 31,850,000 excuses according to the BBC; having a migraine being the most commonly used excuse. The YouGOV poll of 2,105 people found that 15% of workers who admitted to making up an illness to get a day off, used a migraine as their excuse. Unfortunately this puts real sufferers in a difficult position.
In April this year a CIPD straw poll of members found that 90% didn’t have a policy for staff absence during the FIFA World Cup and only 5% of companies had thought about implementing one.
So what can you do as an employer to help maintain employee attendance and productivity levels, as well as avoid absenteeism as staff get behind their National Team?
There are various different options to consider;
Flexibility If employees are faced with an ‘inflexible’ holiday system they may be inclined to call in sick. Some employers feel that if staff were honest behind their reasons for absence then flexibility could be offered. Instead of allowing time off, an employer might agree to a temporary flexible working practice, allowing an employee to work different hours or make up missed hours on other days.
Shift swapping If we look at how Asda have implemented this in their stores, they have set up a scheme called ‘The Shift Swap’ whereby employees have the chance to rearrange shifts around different games provided they find cover. This could work in an office environment on condition that employees are mindful of not leaving the office completely unattended if everyone wanted to take the same time off.
Access to Internet and TV facilities in the office This could work in some instances; in particular, call centre environments whereby staff work in shifts and have set break times and break rooms are available. This may not be very productive in an office as it will distract people from concentrating on work during work hours and can also distract others not wishing to watch any games.
Home working This could be considered if appropriate for your company and would have to work on a first come first served basis. It may not work for all companies and may cause less productivity.
Unpaid Leave Offering your employees the opportunity to take a limited period of leave as extra holiday is often seen as a benefit, although this is not often taken up by employees due to the loss in a days pay.
Arrange a team bonding night If you can’t beat them, join them! This will show you as an employer who appreciates peoples’ needs to feel an emotional connection with their colleagues and the World Cup is a great example.
Whatever method you opt for, ensure that the scheme is implemented appropriately. Communicate the rules of engagement and make sure you have an even approach in terms of work-life balance – not everyone will want to watch the football, so be flexible.
The overall benefit that the employer is gaining from offering a more flexible working environment is that you will have a happy work force that is more dedicated to their job whilst at work, less absenteeism and more control over the staffing levels.
It is far better to be proactive. Love it or hate it the World Cup is coming…so lets survive it!
Image: stephendepolo