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How to survive the World Cup

The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) suggest that as the 2010 World Cup is almost upon us, the chances are that a large proportion of employees across the UK (well, at least England) will be looking forward to it and starting to plan how and where they will be watching the games that excite them.

Of course, employers have no obligation to allow their staff extra time off during the tournament, but evidence suggests that where employers demonstrate they care about their staff they are more likely to go the extra mile for the organisation. Therefore, some managers may see the World Cup as an ideal opportunity to build on employee relations.

For the World Cup, the CIPD make the following suggestions:

Flexible hours

Allowing staff flexibility over starting and finishing work earlier or later, providing core business hours are covered, is one fairly straightforward way that employers might consider. Allowing staff to take time off to watch games providing they make the time up on another day is another possible solution.

Shift swaps

Swapping shifts are another approach to providing flexibility to watch games while ensuring that business is not compromised.

Unpaid leave

Employers may consider providing unpaid leave for staff, providing this does not interfere with business operations. Did you know that during the 2006 World Cup, supermarket chain Asda gave its 150,000 UK employees the chance to take up to two weeks' unpaid leave during the tournament?

Special screening on premises

If employers have the room then they may consider screening matches on their premises.

TV/radio on in background/matches screened in rest rooms

Some employers may allow staff to keep track of matches on a TV or radio while they work, or provide TVs or radios in rest rooms; however, it is important to consider the possible drawbacks of such approaches on productivity.

Keeping track of games on the Internet

There will of course be minute-to-minute updates on the Web, and some games may be available to view live via the Internet. However, the important thing is to communicate to staff what the internet usage policy is.