Productivity to be affected by World Cup 2010

    Johannesburg, June 8 (I-Net Bridge) - The World Cup is turning out to be a sold-out affair with South Africans snapping up the majority of tickets, but the global event is bound to pose serious challenges with regards to productivity in the workplace.           
    Senior researcher at Productivity SA, Motlatsi Gabaocwe, says “gauging by the number of tickets bought by South Africans, we need to take into account the likely impact of the tournament on workplace productivity given that several matches will be played during office hours. Workplace productivity is bound to be affected and employers should be concerned about
the issue of employee absenteeism and the resulting productivity loss.”
    According to an international research report, Europe Talent (2006) which looked at the impact of the football world cup on productivity, the event can increase employee absenteeism thereby resulting in productivity loss during the tournament.
    A case study conducted in Holland in 2004, found that tens of thousands of Dutch workers phoned in ill during the European Championship in Portugal in 2004; with the number of people allegedly being sick, rising 20% on days when the Dutch national side played.
   The actual level of absenteeism is likely to be higher due to post match celebrations or lack of sleep as fans may stay up late until the early hours of the mornings to watch matches. For business this could translate into millions of man-hours of lost productivity.
   To combat the loss to productivity, it is imperative that companies put in place measures that could minimise the impact of disruptions due to absenteeism on productivity, while at the same time accommodating the preference of employees who will be keen to watch world cup games.
    Senior Economist at Productivity SA Michael Ade also adds that, “it is imperative that companies maintain and improve on productivity during the month long period of the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup tournament.”
    Productivity SA released a series of interventions that can help       companies minimise the potential negative impact, maintain and possibly improve on productivity during the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup.
    Companies are urged to set out a clear policy on the frequency and conditions of World Cup related absence that employees could enjoy. This policy could also deal with a policy on alcohol in the workplace.
    Secondly firms should develop a match roster that shows selected popular matches at work to avoid staff leaving the office for long hours.  
    This occasion could be ideally used as a team building exercise and morale boosting exercise. Also, companies should allow flexi hours at work, at least for the duration of the World Cup.
    Companies could have TVs at the workplace especially in the boardroom and at the workshops for employees to watch specific matches and set daily or weekly measurable milestones for employees who can take time off to watch matches once objectives are met.
    Productivity SA also advised that companies should encourage team work so that more experienced members can help out less experience ones to expedite the tasks and they can also encourage employees to take leave or time off to watch matches rather than being present at work but unproductive.
    In conclusion, Productivity SA said firms should encourage workers to commute to work via lift clubs to avoid traffic congestion and delays to and from work.
 
        I-Net Bridge.
    Copyright 2010 I-Net Bridge. All rights reserved.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 at 1:13 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.