Can you feel the excitement?! It’s been a four year wait, but the FIFA World Cup 2014 is only a few days away! In anticipation of people calling in “sick” or taking time away from their work duties to watch the game during work hours, the Forum of Private Business has issued some guidelines to help employers prepare during this very exciting but distracting time:
Screen the matches at work
Install a television or projector screen at work so employees can watch the game. This can prevent many employees from calling in sick, and you use the occasion as a team-building event.
Be flexible with work hours
Let employees leave early to watch certain games important to them, but ask them to make up the time by coming in early or working late at a later time.
Make it a half day
Ask your staff to use their vacation time and take a half day, with sufficient notice, if they plan on watching the game. This will help you prepare for any staff shortages.
Make watching the World Cup a perk
Use the games as a perk and offer the two hours or so that a match will typically take to watch as an incentive, based on group or individual performance.
Make sure all staff is trained properly
If you’re hiring temporary staff to make up for absences, prevent work-related injuries and avoid workers’ compensation claims, by ensuring that all staff, temporary as well as permanent, is properly trained for manual handling as well as all health and safety related issues.
Review your internet policy
Employees may decide to watch the game online or follow up-to-the-minute updates on news and social media. If this poses a problem for your business, make sure to communicate this with them and remind them of your internet use and monitoring policies.
Do nothing
You can also decide to do nothing, and if employees choose to be absent without taking the proper steps, then they leave themselves open to disciplinary action for an unauthorized absence.
So, will you be watching the 2014 FIFA World Cup? Where will you be watching? Let us know in the comments section below
