The 2022 Qatar World Cup is fast approaching with the showpiece tournament now just weeks away. Qatar is 3 hours ahead of GMT which means some matches will land during the working day. The tournament begins on 20 November 2022 with the final due to take place on 18 December 2022.
The World Cup should be an opportunity to generate a good feeling in the workplace and boost staff morale, wellbeing and productivity rather than focussing on how to prevent ‘sickies!’
There are 64 matches across the tournament and the first of the England games takes place in the middle of the working day. Further, fans that support different teams may of course be keen to see their own matches which may also take place during work time. In addition, England fans may want to watch other big games which may also be played during the working day.
In group stage England will come up against USA, Iran and Wales as follows:
England v Iran – 4pm local/1pm UK – Mon 22 November 2022
England v USA – 10pm local/7pm UK – Fri 25 November 2022
Wales v England – 10pm local/7pm UK – Tue 29 November 2022
The concern is that staff sick days and unscheduled absences are likely to rise on or around these days, as staff take their seats in front of the TV to watch England play live. The best employers will be those that take a proactive approach to these events as follows:
• create temporary flexible working for the duration of the tournament
• allow late starting or early finishing on match days
• stage World Cup events in the office by setting up screens to show the matches
• run a sweepstake to ensure all staff feel involved
• plan in advance how to respond to multiple and last minute holiday requests!
• allow employees to watch lunch time matches and then stay late to make up time
• allow employees to listen or watch games online on work devices
• permit the streaming of games on employees’ own mobile devices
If you have a diverse workforce, make sure any temporary flexible arrangements are also available to them to watch their own national team play in the World Cup.
Taking positive steps to manage the workplace impact of the World Cup can have a beneficial effect on employee relations. As well as allowing staff to watch matches, employers could:
• put up special decorations in the office, such as flags of the countries involved;
• relax dress codes, including allowing football shirts to be worn; and
• provide refreshments during games.
Giving staff the opportunity to watch or celebrate major events is a really great way of engaging and motivating the whole team!!
nicola.goodridge@goodhr.co.uk or +44(0)7917878384 for any further advice
