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With World Cup looming, work productivity set to take a hit

20% of respondents to a survey about the World Cup said they planned to take at least some time off from work during the tournament.

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The quadrennial cricket world cup has a huge fan following across Ahmedabad. However, the event which begins this weekend is expected to severely affect work productivity.

At least 10-12 million people are expected to watch the tournament, resulting in a productivity loss of 768 million man hours (12 million x 8 hours x 8 matches). According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), the world cup will not only impact the productivity of employees but also the studies of students as the games coincide with the final exams held in March.

The survey, conducted in January and early February 2011, was released by DS Rawat, secretary general, Assocham. The random survey, covered 2,000 corporate employees and 2,000 students between the age group ranging from 14-20, 21-30, 31-45 and 46 -55 years in metros, tier II and tier III cities such as Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Indore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, Pune, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Lucknow, and Kanpur.

It was found that 20% of respondents indicated their intention to take at least some time off from work. Just over half of the respondents said they intended to work shorter days for much of the month-long event, with the rest indicating that they planned either to request days off using their annual leave, or simply call in sick.

“Workplace productivity in India is expected to drop over the cricket world cup, with several matches scheduled to 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,” revealed the Assocham survey.

What a survey revealed

Do you plan to take time off from work to watch the ICC World Cup?

  • 35% said they will request days off using annual leave
  • 23% responded they will report sick and stay at home to watch the games
  • 32% claimed they will not take full day off, but will work shorter days during the World Cup
  • 60% responded that they will not take any time off work

How to maintain productivity

  • Have TVs at workplace especially in the board room and at the workshops for employees to watch specific matches
  • Set daily or weekly measurable milestones for employees who can take time off to watch matches once objectives are met
  • Encourage team work so that more experienced members can help out less experienced ones to expedite the tasks
  • Ask employees to take leave or time off to watch matches rather than being present at work but remaining unproductive
  • Encourage business meetings via telephone conferencing or video calls
  • Set out a clear policy on the frequency and conditions of World Cup related absence that employees could enjoy.
  • Develop a match rooster which 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
  • Allow flexi hrs work at least for the month during the World Cup
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