Staff productivity to take a dip during World Cup 2018: Survey

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Employers across the Middle East, including Oman, are set to witness a major drop in productivity among their staff in June and July this year as a result of the 2018 football World Cup, according to a survey by online recruitment firm GulfTalent.

The tournament to be played in Russia from June 14 to July 15, will run each day between 2pm and 1am Oman time.

Interest across the Arab world in this year’s FIFA World Cup is running high, as teams from an unprecedented four Arab countries have qualified for the international competition.

The participation of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, including star striker Mohamed Salah, has particularly heightened Gulf and Arab interest in the games. The presence of large numbers of expatriates in the region, many from countries represented in the tournament, is further ramping up the excitement.

The heightened euphoria around the games this year, combined with the fact that many matches will be played during Middle East working hours and can be watched via live streaming on smartphones, is set to impact productivity particularly severely this year.

Based on GulfTalent’s survey findings, 92 per cent of employees in the region plan to watch at least some of the games. On a gender basis, the percentage is slightly lower among women at 84 per cent, as compared with 93 per cent of men.

Of the employees surveyed across the region, 28 per cent or more than one in four, admitted planning to watch some of the games during working hours. Of these, roughly one third expected that they would be given permission to watch the games, while a quarter said they would secretly watch the games by live streaming them on their computers or smartphones.

Other strategies employees reported they would use to watch the games during working hours, included requesting a full day of annual leave, leaving work early to watch the games, or simply calling in sick. While comparing across different job categories, Accountants were found more likely than others to secretly watch the games at their desk. Customer Service professionals in comparison were more likely than others to take a day of annual leave, while Civil Engineers were more likely to leave work early to watch the games.

A further source of productivity loss identified in GulfTalent’s survey is late night game watching and after hours socialising. Almost two-thirds of professionals surveyed said they would watch the late matches even if it meant sleeping late.