World Cup Fever set to strike companies

An estimated 1.4 million men, aged between 21 and 44, plan to call in sick to be able to watch a key game during the World Cup this June, according to a recent UK poll from Workthing.com, a leading UK online recruitment solutions provider.

It has been calculated that the level of absenteeism predicted for just one game could cause a loss to UK industry of up to £128.8 million. With a further 2% of women in the same age group planning to take a sick day, this figure could rise to £142.2 million.

Absenteeism in the UK was reportedly high during the last World Cup in France as well as during the European Championships in Holland and Belgium. This year could see levels reaching new levels as games in Korea and Japan are scheduled to start between 6.30am and 12.30pm (GMT). However, half of the men polled plan to be honest and book a days holiday to watch a key game, with less than one in ten planning to call in sick. The survey also revealed that 40% of the sample hoped to be near a TV at work.

Claire Potter, Director of Marketing and Product Development at Workthing said: "Companies should be aware that the majority of men are planning to be out of the office on big match days and that a significant number plan to phone in sick. At Workthing we're bringing World Cup fever to the office. We're screening the England games and being flexible with those who might arrive a little late after an early morning match. The deal is that people make the time up at the end of the day."

The survey conducted for Workthing by Millward Brown canvassed 465 people, ABC1 aged between 21 and 44.

In November 2001, Workthing acquired PeopleBank, creating one of the UK's leading online recruitment solutions providers.

Workthing generates around 5.3 million page impressions from some 297,000 unique users visiting the sites per month.

(SP)