Business owners around
the world are breathing a collective sigh of relief now that the grand
spectacle that is the FIFA World Cup has come to a close, signaling, at long
last, that it is back to business as usual. Although soccer doesn’t have the
deep roots in North America as it does in other parts of the world, the FIFA
World Cup is widely regarded as the planet’s most important and widely viewed
sporting event, and one reaches a truly global audience. The World Cup only
takes place every four years and this year’s host nation, Brazil, is the
country whose economy is most directly affected by the tournament. But the
month-long tournament also has enormous economic impacts on other countries as
well. Some of the numbers related to the tournament (mostly concerning the US
economy), provided by InsideView are staggering. For example, 80% of the
world’s population will watch some part of the World Cup; the US, it is
estimated, lost $390 million in productivity during their group match game
against Germany alone; and the World Cup will cost the British economy 250
million working hours. During the World Cup, quite literally, the world stops.
Where is all this productivity lost?
The biggest area
affecting productivity is from workers who actually take sick days in order to
watch their nation compete in games. But it gets worse. An estimated 10% of
workers will come in late for work having stayed up late to watch the games.
And who knows how much time and productivity is lost from workers sneaking a
peak during working hours or just conversing about the tournament. All in all,
as far as productivity is concerned, the World Cup amounts to a colossal
distraction.
Steer Into the Skid
Some business owners’
strategies, in light of these statistics, can be to implement draconian-like
policies for the duration of the tournament. But, some business owners are
finding that the best solution is not just to not fight it, but to embrace the
tournament, and see it as an opportunity to enhance other aspects of the
business. According to Mercer research in four Latin American countries, it
showed that on average over 87% of businesses are willing “to be flexible
during the World Cup in offering employees short-term benefits that may have a
positive impact on long-term productivity and morale”.
Specific Strategies
Many businesses are
coming up with ways to make the World Cup accessible to their employees while
keeping a steady workflow. They include things like allowing employees to leave
work early or be flexible with their working hours, watching their nation play
while working from home, and even equipping their break rooms with TVs that
show the games.
The Lasting Impact
A recent Forbes article
even found that the World Cup can actually have a positive impact on the bottom
line of a company by boosting morale. Neal Taparia, Co-CEO of Imagine Easy
Solutions, described the buzz of excitement around the office by their policy
of embracing the tournament and playing all of the games in one of their
conference rooms, suggesting that it connected employees to each other and to
the products they design.
There’s much to learn
from the World Cup, as it will surely test employee commitment. At the end of
the day, the World Cup is never the difference between success and failure, but
reveals much about the connection between the management and the employees.
Links to studies and
works referenced in this article:
