World Cup Mania
By Randall Barker, Vice President of Human Resources - A Plus Benefits
Every year there are events that cause businesses to lose excessive amounts of time and productivity. For example, it happens every March during the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament. Every March I see reports that estimate the huge amount of employee time and productivity lost due to the tournament. This year employers are dealing with World Cup Soccer.
It’s common for employees to request time off to watch these types of events but our clients are seeing more and more employees who show up to work expecting to be able to watch the games on TV while “working.”
My advice during these types of events is to create and implement a policy before the event occurs explaining your expectations and what is and is not acceptable in terms of watching these events on company time. Certainly if it’s important enough to an individual, an employee is welcome to take or use vacation or personal time so he can enjoy the event in his own home instead of trying to avoid being caught at work. I would prefer an employee do this instead of showing up thinking they can work and watch events at the same time. In my opinion and in the opinion of most employers I know and work with, the expectation is that an employee comes to work ready to work, and not spend time on the clock watching sporting events. If they don’t want to work or need a day off to watch these games, they should take vacation time to do so.
The lunch hour is another time that employees should be allowed and even encouraged to watch these games. The only stipulation I include with this is to keep to the allotted lunch break schedule and respect others’ work duties by keeping cheering and other noise to a minimum.
At times it may even be appropriate to extend a reward to reliable and self directed employees the opportunity to take a paid day off or a portion of a day off to watch these games. This offer would only be extended to those employees who the employer feels will still be able to get the job done and not see a drop off in performance or production. In these cases, the employee should understand that this is a privilege that may not be extended to everyone and therefore should be kept confidential similar to salary and bonus discussions. But be warned, often employees brag about “perks” and the bosses attempt to accommodate some employees may backfire and create an even bigger problem with those who haven’t been given the perk of an extra paid day off.
Soccer has yet to be generally accepted by the masses in the U.S. so it’s difficult to make the World Cup a companywide activity/celebration. In Utah, the World Cup doesn’t get the same attention that would be created if Utah and BYU played a Wednesday afternoon football game.
About the Author
Randall Barker is Vice President of Human Resources at A Plus Benefits and has been with the company for over 14 years. He has been involved in human resources for over 20 years and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Certified Employment Law Specialist (CELS). He received his master’s degree from the University of Phoenix and has taught Human Resource classes at a local college. He has extensive experience with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and has successfully managed more than 80 discrimination claims for A Plus Benefits clients during the past 14 years in Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, and Colorado.
The content of this blog reflects the views and opinions of the author, and not necessarily those of Utah Business.